Two of this weekend's Super Rugby Pacific matches are in doubt with the Highlanders and Blues both battling Covid-19 outbreaks in their squads.
The Highlanders face a disrupted preparation for their match against the Moana Pasifika after cancelling training and a media session on Tuesday. While the Blues also confirmed more positive cases in their squad, raising questions over their game against Crusaders.
The Highlanders confirmed the latest developments this morning after 1News revealed on Wednesday that there has been a Covid-19 outbreak among the squad.
READ MORE: Why Moana Pasifika's Covid blows threaten Super Rugby integrity
New Zealand Rugby has not responded to a 1News query about whether Friday's match against Moana Pasifika at Forsyth Barr Stadium remains viable.
There are also more Covid developments at the Blues, with chief executive Andrew Hore on Tuesday morning confirming "that Covid is further impacting our squad". Their media sessions today were also cancelled.
Hore said the Blues were "working through" what that meant for their match against the Crusaders scheduled for Saturday night.
"We are not in a position to add any other details at this stage, but will be able to speak further on developments hopefully by tomorrow," Hore said.
The Highlanders, who have lost all of their four matches this season, travelled to Auckland last weekend where they lost to the Blues, who had been forced to make late changes to their squad due to positive tests.
Highlanders high performance manager Greg O’Brien confirmed on Monday that there were Covid-19 cases within the squad but they remained confident they would be able to field a side against Moana Pasifika.
The new Pasifika franchise have already had three matches postponed this season due to outbreaks among their squad and the opposition.
Their first two matches were postponed due to Covid but they responded with a meritorious performance in a defeat to the Crusaders in Dunedin. However, their next match was postponed due to an outbreak among the Hurricanes and now another fixture appears to be in doubt.
If postponed, it will put severe pressure on both Moana Pasifika and New Zealand Rugby as to when those fixtures can be played.
Moana Pasifika's postponed matches against the Blues and Chiefs have been scheduled for Tuesday, March 29, and Tuesday, April 12, respectively. Their match against the Hurricanes has yet to be re-scheduled.
“It was always our intention to reschedule the matches and it’s a great result for the integrity of the competition," NZ Rugby manager of professional rugby and performance Chris Lendrum said last week.
“We acknowledge the short turnarounds are not ideal, but we believe we’ve reached the best possible outcome in terms of fairness and player welfare."
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