The Highlanders remain confident their trans-Tasman Super Rugby match against the Rebels in Queenstown will go ahead this weekend despite travel restrictions currently in place with Victoria.
Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins announced last night that travel between Victoria and New Zealand would be paused for at least 72 hours after a coronavirus outbreak in Melbourne this week.
The pause raised concerns for Sunday’s match between the Highlanders and Rebels after it was revealed the Melbourne franchise returned to Australia following their loss to the Hurricanes in Wellington last week.
However, Highlanders CEO Roger Clark said today he still sees the match going ahead.
“Obviously, there’s a bit of water to go under the bridge but at the moment, we’re confident the game will go ahead.”
Clark said the Rebels are relocating to Sydney to prepare for the game and avoid any potential lockdowns or further travel restrictions.
The relocation also allows for a worst-case scenario, Clark added.
“There’s a contingency if, worst-case scenario, we’d have to go to Sydney and play that game in Sydney.”
Such a shift would be a big loss for Queenstown, especially given the game was originally moved to the tourism hub to help get businesses up and running again after the Covid-19 pandemic but Clark said ensuring the game goes ahead is also important.
“The last option we want is for a game to be dropped because the integrity of the competition then comes into question,” he said.
“From our perspective, and also from the Rebels perspective, we’ll do everything we can to make sure this game goes ahead this weekend.”
Should the match be forced to cancel, the Highlanders and Rebels will share two points each.
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