Welsh squad members hit by suspected coronavirus, reveals Pivac
WAYNE Pivac has revealed members of the Wales rugby team have been hit by suspected coronavirus.
And he’s admitted Wales and the rest of the rugby world need international matches to somehow be played in the coming months for the game to survive.
Wales are due to travel to New Zealand and Japan this summer, with autumn internationals in Cardiff against the likes of South Africa, the All Blacks and Argentina also scheduled.
But the current lockdown and uncertainty over the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic has left the game heading towards the brink.
“It’s ripping through the communities here,” Pivac told 1 NEWS in New Zealand.
“At the moment we’ve had two or three cases that I’m aware of within our squad.
“I don’t think anyone wants these games to be cancelled, we need them to be played.
“We need the money into the game for the game to survive. We’re all in the same boat there.”
It’s understood that all of the affected Wales players have now recovered.
Pivac has floated the idea of playing summer Test matches against northern hemisphere sides if they are cleared to play earlier than in other parts of the world.
“We would like to think we’ll be playing some rugby, hopefully,” he said last week.
“Even if it’s that June/July period in the northern hemisphere.
“Whether or not the summer tours go ahead, that’s another story.
“We’re gearing up as if we’re going to get some rugby around that time and what that may look like in terms of club rugby, which would get our players back into playing the game and preparing them to play internationals.
“Obviously, if it starts up in the northern hemisphere but not in the southern hemisphere, then we’ll have to look at opponents from this area.
“Certainly, we’d like to think things will get up and running but it’s a bit of a guesstimate at the moment really.”
A number of potential solutions to rugby’s post-coronavirus issues have been suggested, including an autumn Six Nations that would tie into next year’s tournament.