A Blues team huddle during a training session at Alexandra Park in Auckland. Photo / Photosport
A Blues team huddle during a training session at Alexandra Park in Auckland. Photo / Photosport
Further details of Super Rugby's radical plans to save the 2022 season amid New Zealand's Omicron outbreak have emerged, including a new venue and last minute changes to games. Liam Napier reports.
Invercargill is expected host all New Zealand-based night matches and this weekend's Blues and Hurricanes preseason game maybe moved from Auckland at the last minute as further details of plans to save the Super Rugby season emerge.
New Zealand Rugby is attempting to avoid a scenario where entire teams must isolate for at least 10 days as the result of one positive Covid case or close contact which would force games to be cancelled.
In New Zealand's Covid red light settings, all games must be played behind closed doors so moving matches to one location makes no difference to the 100-cap crowd limit.
In a fraught climate, basing the six teams in Queenstown is viewed as the best possible option to get through as many games between the New Zealand teams as possible by mitigating the risk of household community exposure as Omicron cases expand in the coming weeks.
The Herald understands further meetings on the relocation proposal were held on Tuesday and, with the Queenstown hub expected to gain signoff from all parties, teams could travel south as early as this weekend.
Plans are understood to be under way for the 24 New Zealand-based matches to be split between Queenstown and Invercargill.
Queenstown will host day games and teams will bus to Invercargill, the closest venue with broadcast quality lights, for night matches. Airports and public planes are high-risk exposure sites and will therefore be avoided.
This weekend's Blues and Hurricanes pre-season game may be moved from Auckland at the last minute. Photo / Photosport
Dunedin's roofed Forsyth Barr Stadium would guarantee ideal playing conditions and was considered to host night fixtures but with teams to bus in and out securely on the same day, the almost four-hour journey one way – compared with Queenstown to Invercargill's five-hour round trip – was deemed too much.
Once the decision to move all teams to Queenstown is finalised NZ Rugby plans to act swiftly to justify the expense of housing six teams – up to 300 personnel including coaching and support staff – for at least the next month.
The national body is believed to have secured a favourable accommodation deal as Queenstown hotels continue to struggle with no foreign tourists.
The Blues' scheduled preseason match against the Hurricanes at Takapuna's Onewa Domain on Saturday is expected to be the latest game relocated. The Blues' second preseason match against the Chiefs in Te Puke the following week will also need to be moved.
With all teams set to relocate south, the Blues may travel by charter flight to Wellington or Queenstown for this weekend's preseason match.
The Highlanders preseason fixture against Moana Pasifika, scheduled for February 11 in Queenstown, was cancelled last week but may now be revived with all teams venturing south.
At this stage the Highlanders are scheduled to play the annual Farmlands Cup preseason match against the Crusaders in Oamaru on Friday.
The Crusaders and Hurricanes are also supposed to meet in the preseason – this match was relocated from Blenheim to Christchurch but could now be staged in Queenstown.
Suggestions New Zealand teams will be forced to move from their Queenstown bubble to base themselves in Australia to complete the transtasman component of the inaugural Super Rugby Pacific season, meanwhile, appear premature.
The remodelled draw will see New Zealand and Australian Super sides play local derbies until April 22. All 12 teams are then scheduled to converge on Melbourne for the maiden 'super round'.
While such a prospect seems improbable with the complex border situation, the New Zealand government is set to allow Australian-based Kiwis to skip MIQ and self-isolate from the end of this month which may eventually lead to greater travel flexibility.
Given the mass changes Super Rugby Pacific has endured before the season-opening match on February 18, tournament organisers will certainly hope the landscape improves.
