RAINBOW CUP TO GO AHEAD, WITH OR WITHOUT SA TEAMS
THE Rainbow Cup will get under way as planned next week, even though it’s unclear whether it will involve any cross-continent matches.
The new tournament is due to see the four South African Super Rugby sides battling it out with the 12 Guinness PRO teams from Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy.
There were set to be three rounds of derbies followed by three weekends where the South African teams would play games in Europe.
But securing permission for those sides – the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions - to travel to these shores is proving problematic. The plan was for them to be based in bubbles where they would go through a 10-day quarantine period before playing their games.
Various locations were looked at, including Bristol, Jersey and Dublin.
But, at present, South Africa is on the travel red list for the UK and Ireland, with direct flights from the country having been suspended.
As such, the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions have put their visa applications on hold.
In order to travel over to the UK, they would have to be given special dispensation as elite sports teams.
It’s understood that conversations with the respective governments are ongoing, with amended proposals being worked on.
The key issue is securing an entry point – either into the UK or Ireland.
Once allowed in, they would in theory be able to move between countries after observing a quarantine period.
At present, it seems gaining entry into Ireland might be the best chance of the South African sides featuring in the Rainbow Cup.
On Monday, April 12, it was announced that the Irish government is to make exemptions to allow sporting events to go ahead in the country.
There had been concerns over both Ireland Women’s Six Nations game against France this Saturday in Dublin and Leinster’s Champions Cup semi-final away to La Rochelle at the end of this month.
From Thursday, France will be added to the Irish government’s list of countries from where passengers will have to quarantine in a hotel for a minimum of 10 days.
The fear was that would mean the women’s Six Nations fixture would not be able to be played, while Leinster would have to quarantine for 10 days after returning from La Rochelle, before a potential Champions Cup final.
But elite athletes are to be given an exemption from mandatory hotel quarantine, allowing those fixtures to go ahead.
The hope is the four South African sides might also be given dispensation to be based in Ireland in order to fulfil their cross-border Rainbow Cup matches.