Challenges ahead as Pro14 sets out its timescale for return
Many rugby fans will have been viewing matches broadcast from New Zealand over the last couple of weekends with envy.
Capacity crowds have filled stadia, and some of the rugby on show from the New Zealand franchises has been first-rate.
Spectators in the Northern Hemisphere will have to wait a little longer to be able to attend matches live. But this week it was announced that the Pro14 would attempt to conclude its season with games in August and September.
The plan is that across the league, teams will play “home-and-away derbies”. The top two teams in each conference will then play a semi-final the next weekend.
The Final is scheduled for Saturday, September 12, at a venue yet to be determined.
For Edinburgh and Glasgow, this means derby matches on consecutive Saturdays, beginning on August 22 – usually the time when pre-season games are in full flow.
Edinburgh are currently riding high at the top of the table of Conference B with 47 points, two points clear of Munster and 10 points ahead of Scarlets.
They will need only one point to guarantee themselves a place in the semi-final, assuming their rivals take maximum points from both matches.
Of course, there can be no doubt that Richard Cockerill’s men will want to win their Conference to give them whatever advantage they can for a semi-final game.
Glasgow, on the other hand, lie in third place in Conference A with 34 points, nine behind Ulster in second place and 27 points adrift of Leinster.
The Warriors will need to secure maximum points from both games against their inter-city rivals to be in with a remote chance of qualification for the semi-finals.
The good news for both sides is that qualification for the Champions Cup – the most-prestigious of the European competitions – will be based on league positions after Round 13 of the Pro14 league.
The top six teams will qualify, which means that both Edinburgh and Glasgow will feature in the Cup competition next season.
This announcement doesn’t give the teams much time to prepare.
Scottish Rugby’s medical staff have previously talked about the lead time into match rugby as being around 8-10 weeks. It will be eight weeks until August 22 next Saturday, which means that preparation time is at the lower end of the scale.
Of course, if a squad member becomes infected with Covid-19 between now and then, presumably the whole squad will have to self-isolate and training will be suspended.
The rush to return to competitive sport seems to be surrounded by challenges. If it were not for the financial implications, it might be better to forget last season’s Pro14 and instead prepare for a proper start to the new season.