'As it stands the Blues-Crusaders game could not be played'

NEWS: New Zealand Rugby is hopeful that one of their two scheduled Super Rugby Aotearoa final round matches can be played after the NZ government’s latest COVID-19 announcement.

New Zealand announced its first locally transmitted coronavirus infections more than 100 days on Tuesday and issued a stay-at-home lockdown order for the country’s largest city – Auckland, which came into effect on Wednesday.

READ: Kiwis rocked by COVID-19 surge

“Two matches are scheduled to be played this weekend in the final round of Super Rugby Aotearoa. The Highlanders are due to host the Hurricanes at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday evening and the Blues are scheduled to host the Crusaders at a sold-out Eden Park on Sunday. The Chiefs have the bye this weekend.

“As it stands currently, with Auckland at Level 3, the Blues-Crusaders game could not be played, while the Highlanders-Hurricanes game at Level 2 could be played with significant restrictions on crowd attendance,” said a statement on Wednesday.

NZR General Manager Professional Rugby & Performance Chris Lendrum said: “All our decision-making will be guided by the Government advice and so we will wait to see if there will be any changes to Alert Levels in Auckland and around the country for this weekend and beyond.

“We are all awaiting the next Government update with interest.

“In the meantime, we are preparing prudent contingency plans around playing the Highlanders-Hurricanes game with significant crowd restrictions. As mentioned, we will also await further Government updates and the potential impact on the Blues-Crusaders match.

“We know that there is a lot of anxiety and uncertainty and we thank everyone, particularly ticket holders, for their understanding and patience as we work through these complex and fast-moving issues.”

The Crusaders have already been crowned Super Rugby Aotearoa champions, but there is still a lot of interest in their final round clash against the Blues.