Mid-year All Blacks tests in jeopardy
New Zealand Rugby is facing another hammer blow after the All Blacks’ tests against Wales and Scotland in July were plunged into fresh doubt.
European rugby bosses announced yesterday the indefinite suspension of the Pro 14 tournament and the cancellation of the tournament final in Cardiff on June 20.
Notwithstanding the fact New Zealand’s borders are currently closed, many Welsh and Scottish players are involved in the Pro 14 competition and they now face the prospect of months without rugby.
The All Blacks are due to play Wales in the first test of their twogame series in Auckland on July 4.
The fact that the Pro 14 is already offering refunds for the June 20 final signals that behind the scenes European rugby bosses are planning for a prolonged shutdown.
In those circumstances it is hard to see how the Wales and Scotland squads could be physically ready to play test rugby in July, even if the coronavirus crisis has eased somewhat by then.
New Zealand players are already wrestling with the problematic area of training, even as NZ Rugby presses ahead with plans to stage a 10-12 week Kiwi-derby competition.
The Highlanders, Crusaders and Chiefs are all in self-isolation at present and the Highlanders won’t emerge from those conditions until Tuesday week.
Highlanders chief executive Roger Clark revealed to Stuff on Thursday that they wanted to resume training shortly but couldn’t.
‘‘We’re trying to start training again next week but we were absolutely advised that we couldn’t,’’ said Clark, who added it would become clear by today whether the Highlanders players ‘‘would be out of the danger zone’’ in terms of displaying coronavirus symptoms.
The potential loss of the All Blacks tests in July would hit NZ Rugby’s bottom line hard, with games to be held in Auckland (Wales), Wellington (Wales) and Dunedin (Scotland).
The significant loss of revenue would complicate rugby’s attempts to get through the coronavirus crisis, although NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson was confident that its finances were sufficiently robust.
‘‘We own the responsibility for the future financial viability of the game, we know we’ve got some incredibly challenging times and some significant head-winds in front of us but we’re confident we can work through it,’’ Robinson said on Wednesday.
The loss of the tests would also be a savage blow to Sky.
Sky Network’s shares were trading at 27.5 cents yesterday, giving it a market capitalisation of $120 million well below the reported $500m it paid for Sanzaar rugby content between 2021-2025.