Aotearoa's six Super Rugby Pacific teams will begin the season by relocating to Queenstown to create a Covid-19 competition bubble, New Zealand Rugby has announced.
NZR said in a statement Wednesday afternoon the Blues, Chiefs, Crusaders, Highlanders, Hurricanes and Moana Pasifika will all converge on Queenstown this weekend to play the opening three or four rounds of the competition.
“Under current Covid-19 regulations it would only take one positive case entering a squad environment to shut down an entire squad for 10 days. The knock-on effect for the rest of the competition would be the postponement or cancellation of matches,” NZR's Chris Lendrum said.
“By moving the teams to a secure hub, we believe we have a good chance of preventing a Covid-19 infection, or close contact event, side-lining one of our teams for a prolonged period. The plan is currently for the teams to move to Queenstown early next week and remain in Queenstown for the opening three weeks of the competition.”
The Blues, Hurricanes, Moana Pasifika, and Chiefs will fly to Queenstown on charter flights, while the Crusaders and Highlanders will bus south over the coming weekend.
The squads will then operate in separate bubbles with exclusive use of training facilities in the Queenstown area.
Day matches will be played in Queenstown at the Wakatipu Rugby Club whereas teams will bus to and from Rugby Park in Invercargill for any night matches.
Lendrum said teams will stay in nearby hotels and will utilise Covid-19 protocols successfully implemented by the All Blacks during last year’s Northern Tour.
“We are committed to bringing the teams home in early-March regardless of the Covid-19 landscape.
“We realise there is a significant sacrifice in leaving whānau behind to play these matches and we are grateful for the cooperation of our players, the New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association, Sky and also the Queenstown Lakes District Council who have accommodated our requests at short notice and providing facilities for our teams to train and play in the region.”
Lendrum added NZR was committed to playing the women's Super Rugby Aupiki competition as well and is weighing the options on how to manage the tournament and four squads.
The opening round for Super Rugby Pacific kicks off on Friday February 18.
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