Rugby Championship in the balance as Western Australia shuts its doors

epa07074549 Pieter-Steph du Toit of South Africa (C-R) is tackled by Jack Goodhue (C-L) of New Zealand during the Rugby Championship match between South Africa and New Zealand at Loftus Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa, 06 October 2018. EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOK

By Craig Ray

19 Aug 2021

The immediate future of the 2021 Rugby Championship is in the balance after the government of Western Australia indicated it was not willing to host the All Blacks, Springboks, Wallabies and Pumas in Perth over the next six weeks.

There will be a charter plane literally sitting on the tarmac at Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport in Gqeberha on Sunday morning. It will be fuelled and ready to carry the South African and Argentina rugby squads to the next leg of the 2021 Rugby Championship tournament. The only problem is, it might not have a flight plan to a chosen destination.

The annual Rugby Championship, featuring the southern hemisphere’s four leading international teams, was supposed to play out in Australia over the coming weeks. Perth was set to be the venue to host the four teams after New Zealand shut its doors due to a Covid-19 lockdown.

But that plan hit a barrier harder than the Springbok defensive line when West Australian premier Mark McGowan announced that the All Blacks would have to spend 14 days in quarantine before the scheduled 28 August meeting against the Wallabies in Perth.

That was after Western Australia went into lockdown Level 4. The problem was that McGowan made the announcement on 18 August hours before the new restrictions kicked in, making it practically impossible for the All Blacks to quarantine for 14 days before their match.

If that fixture, which forms part of the Rugby Championship, cannot go ahead, the entire tournament schedule is thrown into turmoil. Asked if Perth was still willing to host the Rugby Championship, McGowan said: “I think it would be unlikely, it’s not our number-one priority.’’

Several proposals being considered

The Boks and Pumas were set to travel together to Perth from Gqeberha on Sunday, following their second meeting at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on 21 August. Bok coach Jacques Nienaber confirmed that at a media briefing this week.

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi shakes off Will Genia of the Wallabies during their Rugby Championship match at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on 8 September 2018. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Given the schedule, which entails a 14-day quarantine period in Australia for both teams, there are literally no spare weekends left to complete the fixtures if the All Blacks miss the Wallaby match next week.

Cue a South African, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby (Sanzaar) crisis.

At least SA Rugby are now seasoned crisis managers after the recent logistical challenges that the British & Irish Lions tour presented, so there was a sense of serious but calm focus.

Options have been put on the table. Daily Maverick understands that there are several but the three vying for top position are under consideration.

The first is to relocate the championship to Brisbane in Queensland. That state currently has milder restrictions than other states. The second is to move the remaining four match-day weekends to the UK, Ireland and France and play matches in London, Paris, Dublin and Edinburgh. The third option is for the Wallabies and All Blacks to come to South Africa since the Boks and Pumas are already in situ.

The problem with going ahead in Australia is that the situation is fluid. Considering how quickly Western Australia changed its policy, there is no guarantee Queensland won’t follow suit at the slightest hint of an upward spike in Covid infections. Sanzaar can ill afford the tournament to be called off midway through.

Because of that, it makes the UK option more attractive. The Boks and Pumas squads would still have to go through 14 days of quarantine because South Africa remains on the UK red list, but they were going to do that in Perth anyway.

Another factor is that the UK government is unlikely to change its restrictions easily in the foreseeable future. A bonus is that fans could be allowed in stadiums, raising the possibility of additional income. But a source told Daily Maverick that a European-based Rugby Championship was “unlikely”.

South Africa is on the downward trajectory of its third Covid-19 wave and could comfortably stage the remaining matches. There is almost zero chance of South Africa returning to Level 4 or above in the coming six weeks.

Pieter-Steph du Toit is tackled by Jack Goodhue (No 13) of New Zealand during a Rugby Championship match between the Springboks and the All Blacks at Loftus in Pretoria on 6 October 2018. (Photo: EPA-EFE/Kim Ludbrook)

There is also no lengthy quarantine required in South Africa, making it easier for the Wallabies and All Blacks to enter. The downside is that those teams would need to spend 14 days in quarantine when returning home, or in the All Blacks’ case, continuing straight on to the UK for an end-of-season tour.

Another drawback is that all the matches in South Africa would still have to be played without crowds under the current Covid restrictions.

Logistical challenges

Daily Maverick understands that New Zealand in particular don’t favour the South Africa option, which is hardly a surprise. The All Blacks made an almighty fuss in 2020 over the Tri-Nations fixture list when it became apparent that their squad would miss Christmas with their families due to potential quarantining. After much moaning the date was changed.

Regardless of the eventual decision on which city or cities to play in, there is a long list of other issues that need to be sorted out.

Accommodation for about 240 players, management and support staff in bio-secure environments requires entire hotels that need to be geared to coping with Covid-19 protocols.

Stadiums have to be booked and if there are fans allowed, as might be the case in the UK, then security personnel, traffic departments, city and regional municipalities all need to be involved in the planning. As it stands, Brisbane might not be able to stage high-profile rugby internationals because its biggest stadium, Suncorp, is slotted in for several other high-profile fixtures.

These are not insurmountable problems, but require time, negotiation and finances. Sanzaar is certainly not flush with spare cash and they are almost out of time. DM

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