The Counties Manukau Steelers are contemplating a shift to Waikato to escape Auckland’s Alert Level 3 restrictions as uncertainty remains over the duration of the city’s Covid-19 lockdown
The current restrictions mean that the three provinces based in the Auckland region - Counties Manukau, Auckland and North Harbour, are unable to train as a team or host games.
Counties Manukau Rugby Union CEO Aaron Lawton says the move south wouldn't be too far from home.
"Obviously Counties Manukau actually kind of straddles Waikato and Auckland so we're looking at the possibility of lifting up the team and moving them across the border," Lawton said.
With the Mitre 10 Cup set to begin in early September, North Harbour CEO David Gibson says the union is exploring several backup plans in the case of an extended lockdown.
"There's a lot of work done behind the scenes just to plan on the different scenarios that could happen so contingency planning is in process but at the moment there is no certainty around that for us," Gibson said.
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