IRFU stick with plans despite Government changes to ‘phases’ rollout
IRISH rugby will not change its plan for a return to play despite the Government’s announcement that groups of up to 15 people can train together from Monday.
All four provinces are on leave for most of June ahead of the August 20/21 resumption of action and will stick to those return dates.
Although the Government’s decision to accelerate the easing of restrictions will allow elite sportspeople to resume training at agreed locations around the country, the country’s rugby stars will wait until later this month.
Leinster and Munster will return to their headquarters on June 22, with Ulster and Connacht due back a week later.
Having been brought to a standstill by Covid-19 in late February, rugby is officially due back as part of Phase Five of the plan to ease restrictions, which is currently scheduled for August 10.
The union has said that players will need at least six weeks of preparation before they can return to action and have plans in place to limit the risk of infection when they begin to work together again.
Matches are likely to resume behind closed doors, but there is a growing feeling within sport that some crowds will be allowed to attend once they get under way, which would be a massive financial boost to the IRFU who are facing huge losses if fans are locked out.
Curtailed
New Zealand’s Super Rugby Aotearoa is the first rugby competition back next week, with Australia set to follow in July. The English Premiership has announced plans to return on August 15, a week before the interprovincial derbies here.
Those matches will form part of a curtailed PRO14 run-in which will conclude in September, with the Champions Cup also set for completion in October.
The union has informed 10-year ticket holders that the final payments have been deferred until there is greater clarity on when they can attend matches.
A number of fans were due to pay €8,700 before June 1 but that has been postponed due to the ongoing uncertainty around the rescheduling of fixtures and whether matches will have to go ahead behind closed doors for the foreseeable future.
The decision to defer payments will add to the union’s cashflow issues. Chief executive Philip Browne has said the IRFU stand to lose between €15m-20m if the remaining 2020 fixtures and refixtures do not go ahead and between €12m-15m if they go ahead behind closed doors.
Meanwhile, hooker Diarmuid Barron has signed a senior contract with Munster who have added out-half Jack Crowley, hooker Scott Buckley and flanker Alex Kendellen to their academy.