NZ Rugby can take lessons from NRL

Once NZ Rugby has been advised what’s permitted under alert level two it should follow the Australian Rugby League Commission’s lead and let us all know what it has got planned for its professional competitions.

Rugby fans, quite rightly, are desperate for more information about Super Rugby and Mitre 10 Cup.

Since New Zealand went into lockdown because of Covid-19, NZ Rugby, like many businesses, has had no option but to assume the brace position and assess the damage that comes with being under level four and three 3.

There can be no complaints on that score.

But now New Zealand appears to have the upper hand in the fight against the pandemic, NZ Rugby could be on the cusp of asking its professional athletes to return to work.

We have already started getting information in dribs and drabs from various sources.

Rugby supporters, the most important stakeholders in the game, deserve more than that when we go to level two.

A couple of weeks ago Crusaders coach Scott Robertson told former British and Irish Lions and England midfielder Will Greenwood in a podcast that Super Rugby will return in the form of a domestic 10-week competition, followed by the Mitre 10 Cup.

It’s possible a North v South match will be squeezed in as well.

Yesterday Impey told Newstalk ZB that, depending on Government policy when the alert level shifts from three to two, the ‘‘best hope’’ was to have Super Rugby back on our TV screens in the middle of June.

For obvious reasons some, or all, of those games will be in front of no crowds.

Minister of Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson has said a return to professional sports could be possible under level two. This is all very encouraging.

The NRL, meanwhile, is slating a re-start of its competition for May 28.

There has been criticism, some of it from those in the corner of the rah-rah code.

Sycophants for the 15-man code say rugby is right to tread lightly, and that Australia Rugby League Commissioner chairman Peter V’landys and his mates have been in too much a rush.

Everyone’s health, and preventing the spread of the virus, must take priority. No-one can dispute that.

The flipside to these arguments is that the ARLC can’t be accused of keeping its game’s supporters in the dark, or of failing to promote the NRL – even when there have been no games. There has been a constant flow of information.

It’s guaranteed that Super Rugby won’t start later this month. The athletes will need around a month to prepare for the tough New Zealand derbies.

Lugging weights in the garage and sprinting between cones at the local park is no substitute for an organised training against other professionals or receiving guidance from strength and conditioning coaches. Not even close.

NZ Rugby will be ramming home the message to coaches, players and management that they must adhere to the Government’s guidelines.

Trust will play a big part in the revival of this new streamlined tournament. The multi-million dollar industry can’t afford to have a couple of morons putting the livelhoods of hundreds of others at risk.

Last Thursday Impey said NZ Rugby will survive the financial crisis brought about by the pandemic, but warned his organisation will post a loss in the ‘‘tens of millions’’.

It’s grim. But there’s hope, as well. The NRL, whether or not people agree with its methods, has led the way.

NZ Rugby will no doubt watch, and learn from the NRL’s successes and mistakes. It has to.

An early start to Super Rugby could depend on it.