Stands may not be empty
Hopes are rising for ‘crowds’ of several hundred to watch topline rugby’s return in just over a fortnight, with Eden Park’s chief executive confident of welcoming back an increasing number of fans within Covid-19 restrictions.
As the five New Zealand sides hit the training grounds to prepare for Super Rugby Aotearoa, stadium bosses and NZ Rugby are working through a range of crowd scenarios for opening weekend on June 13 in Dunedin and the following day in Auckland.
As it currently stands, the Highlanders and Chiefs will run onto Forsyth Barr Stadium with no one in the stands, and a smattering of team management, stadium staff, television crew and media.
The same applies to Eden Park on Sunday afternoon, June 14, and the much-awaited Blues v Hurricanes and battle of the Barretts, with June 22 the earliest the Government will entertain a move to alert level 1 and gatherings of 500-plus.
But the level 2 rules around gatherings of 100 are evolving, too, and could be further relaxed on June 8 if the run of zero new cases continues. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described them as a work in progress.
‘‘One of the things we’re still giving ourselves a bit of time to work through, is when you’ve got much larger event spaces, convention centres and so on, can we do a little bit of thinking about how we manage those environments,’’ Ardern told Sky Sport’s The Breakdown on Tuesday.
Nick Sautner, Eden Park’s CEO, entered the fray on Wednesday, telling Newsroom he wanted spectators back
Armed with a couple of new X-factor recruits and better buy-in from his players around conditioning, Aaron Mauger remains upbeat ahead of the three most important months of his Highlanders coaching tenure.
Mauger is coming off contract and with the Highlanders board set to make a decision on his future at the end of the campaign, the stakes are self-evidently high.
But Mauger is desperate to continue coaching in Dunedin and sees signs that the Highlanders are ready to take advantage of the second chance offered to them by the Super Rugby Aotearoa competition.
‘‘[I’m] off contract obviously at the end of the year but I’ve got every faith in my ability,’’ Mauger said.
‘‘I love coaching this team. I think we are on the right track. We’ve put a good structure in place and our boys have responded.
‘‘We know that we can perform better as a team and it’s certainly my job to lead that.’’
After what has seemed like a lifetime without rugby, the Highlanders will host the Chiefs at an empty Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin in just over two weeks.
Mauger said the men from Hamilton were in sharp form before Covid-19 struck but the nature of the competition is such that every game will be a massive test for the Highlanders.
A harsh internal review at the start of the isolation period, in which both players and coaches came under scrutiny, was essential and produced two major lessons.
First, the Highlanders needed to be better at the parts of the games that require no talent, such as working harder for longer. for the opening game, saying the country’s biggest stadium could safely accommodate 5000 patrons in 10 blocks of 500 using specific gates. That would seemingly depend on a move to level 1, or further changes to level 2 guidelines.
Sautner declined to comment further to Stuff yesterday, saying he was working through MBIE’s latest advice which gives hope to stadia welcoming in more than 100 spectators under level 2.
The MBIE advice, dated May 27, states multiple groups of 100 are allowable in event facilities provided they are in separate ‘defined spaces’ with no ability to mingle between groups. Each spectator would require a ticket linked to an address for contact tracing.
Sautner told NewstalkZB on Wednesday of the 100 limit: ‘‘That’s being worked through and there are a number of people that would love to have that golden ticket.’’
If multiple groups of 100 were permitted, Blues, Auckland Rugby and Eden Park members would get first option along with corporate partners and box holders. Stadiums and the five franchises are desperate for paying fans to return as they feel the financial pinch of the effects of Covid-19.
Sautner said significant fixed costs around rates, power, water and gas, along with interest on their historic loan from Rugby World Cup 2011 meant they had reduced the payroll by 30 per cent, and directors were foregoing their fees. Eden Park also waived its hiring fee to the Blues.
Kim Barnes, marketing and communications manager for Dunedin Venues which runs Forsyth Barr Stadium, said it was exploring several scenarios starting with 100 fans, or ideally more for the competition opener.
‘‘We’ve got several plans in place where we’re ready to go depending on what is required from Government and/or content providers. We are as eager as anyone else to have people back under the roof,’’ Barnes told Stuff.
New Zealand Rugby head of professional rugby Chris Lendrum said: ‘‘We are working closely with our Super clubs and developing plans around the potential to host crowds at some point during the competition.’’
Hurricanes chief executive Avan Lee said in a statement: ‘‘The Hurricanes remain optimistic that full crowds will be allowed to attend toward the back end of the season.’’
Aaron Mauger
‘‘We know we can perform better as a team and it’s my job to lead that.’’
Second, strategy and selections needed to be changed. As a result, Mauger revealed on Wednesday that Josh Ioane would again be seen as a No 10, which could transform the Highlanders’ attack given his ability to take the ball to the line.
As for Mauger, the break gave him the chance to reflect on his own role, and he wanted to get his players to drop their bad habits without dropping their heads.
‘‘I think just the ability to keep the belief in the group,’’ Mauger said.
‘‘Identifying the things we did well . . . it’s building belief in those parts. There’s some stuff we highlighted that we need to dump.
‘‘For example, not working hard enough to get back in the line to come forward to put teams under pressure was a big one for us. And the ability to put teams under constant pressure.
‘‘That’s my job, the coaching staff, to create that awareness and draw that out of players.’’
Clearly, if he gets the Highlanders up and running, any future contract will look after itself, while he is fully aware of the repercussions if they don’t improve. ‘‘There’s good belief in this group,’’ he said. ‘‘Obviously, we don’t want to talk it up too much because we’ve got to go out and do it.
‘‘It’s not until we start playing that we’ll know exactly where we’re at. But I feel we’re on the right track.’’