SA Rugby has confirmed the cancellation of a number of events and continued contingency planning for others in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic it was announced on Tuesday, following extensive consultation between members of the local rugby industry.
“These are unprecedented times, not only for rugby in South Africa but across all spheres of life all over the globe,” said Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby, who also announced an Industry Financial Impact Plan on Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, we had to make some very tough calls in terms of our local competitions, but we have the buy-in and support from the local franchises and unions, Sareo, MyPlayers and our broadcaster, SuperSport, in this regard.
“The decision to cancel certain competitions and tournaments is in line with what has been happening across various sporting codes all over the world – we are not shielded from this in South Africa.
“In terms of other teams’ participation in certain competitions, and the hosting of other tournaments, we are currently on a return to train and play readiness plan, but this is dependent on government advice and decisions as the pandemic evolves.”
The tournaments which are still part of the planning for 2020, are:
Local franchise and union competition planned for June to August as an alternative to Super Rugby and Pro14
Currie Cup Premier and First Divisions
Provincial Under-21 Competition
SuperSport Rugby Challenge
Women’s Inter-Provincial competition
International matches involving the Springboks Men’s & Women’s teams
HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series involving the Blitzboks
Furthermore, the participation of the SA Rugby Sevens Academy and Springbok Women’s Sevens teams will be evaluated as international borders reopen and new dates are received for the World Series Qualifiers for 2020.
The following tournaments and competitions have been cancelled for 2020:
All SA Rugby Youth Weeks
SA Rugby Provincial Under-13 and Under-17 Sevens
SA Schools Under-18 Competition
SA Rugby Provincial Under-19 Week
SA Rugby Provincial Under-20 Competition
SA Rugby Provincial Sevens Competition
All club and community rugby is still postponed until further notice and SA Rugby reiterated its plea to all clubs, teams, players and coaches to adhere to the lockdown rules.
In partnership with ANA and Sports Leo
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