Some hope for Auckland teams
Auckland’s three grounded NPC teams have been granted permission to train in supervised small groups, but their return to the competition remains up in air.
It follows New Zealand Rugby having a second bid for an exemption shot down by the government, with requests to move Auckland, Counties Manukau and North Harbour out of the country’s biggest city denied.
Permitted trainings are aerobic only, but are nevertheless a welcome step as they eye a return to the competition. Training protocols have been designed in accordance with Covid-19 alert Level 3 requirements.
The training groups are restricted to a maximum of 10 players, and are not to be longer than 60 minutes. All trainings must be contactless, with physical distancing of at least two metres maintained at all times, and no sharing of equipment.
‘‘Our goal is to help our teams be as well-prepared as possible for a return once Auckland has moved to alert level 2,’’ NZR general manager of community rugby Steve Lancaster said.
The government will review the current alert levels on Monday, but experts say a move to level 2 next week is unlikely if the status quo continues, with unexpected and unlinked cases popping up.
‘‘Very, very keen to get an alert level change next week, which will open the door. If we don’t, it’s not entirely closed, but it gets harder,’’ North Harbour chairman and acting chief executive Gerard van Tilborg said.
NZR had hoped the Auckland teams would be back by October 8 to avoid major disruption to the draw, but that’s firmly out of the question. An October 15 return is on the cards, as long as Auckland drops to alert level 2 next week, far from a given with another 45 cases of Covid-19 reported in the community yesterday.
‘‘If we can get down a level for sure next week, that will help immeasurably. At this stage, there is still an opportunity if that happens for us to be back in the competition,’’ van Tilborg said.
‘‘We’re anxious to get back into it... without [the Auckland teams] in the competition where is the credibility in the competition? We all need to get back, there’s no doubt about that. Can we? I don’t know.’’