Rugby
1News

Wallabies given seven days to arrive in NZ for Bledisloe Cup

July 23, 2021
Third Bledisloe Cup Test Match between the Qantas Wallabies and New Zealand All Blacks at ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia. Michael Hooper of the Wallabies. Photo: Photo: Stuart Walmsley / www.photosport.nz

The Wallabies have overcome the first hurdle in order to make it over the Tasman for the first Bledisloe Test against the All Blacks in Auckland.

The Eden Park Test, scheduled for Saturday August 7, has been thrown into doubt after the announcement the travel bubble with Australia will be closed from 11:59pm today.

The office of Sports Minister Grant Robertson this afternoon confirmed to 1 NEWS the Wallabies have been given the green light to travel to New Zealand without going into MIQ as long as they arrive within the next seven days.

Earlier, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the Wallabies will have seven days to enter the country without going into managed isolation as long as they can provide a "significant economic case" to do so.

"The week that we have available for New Zealanders to return, there will be some who are not eligible to return in that seven days because they may be caught by being in a location of interest, or may need to self-isolate for other reasons," Ardern explained.

"If there are significant economic issues that are brought up by the closure in that seven-day window that can be resolved then we have a delegated minister to work through those issues.

"However, it must be in the seven-day window, we are not making exemptions outside of that everyone else has to go into quarantine."

Rugby Australia Chief Executive Officer Andy Marinos says the team has, "been in a secure bubble since the conclusion of the France Series, with the squad assembled on the Gold Coast".

The players have been receiving regular Covid-19 tests at their base according to Rugby Australia.

“We are working closely with New Zealand Rugby and the various Governments through different scenarios now. Rugby Australia’s position has always been to prioritise the health and safety of its players, staff and fans, and today’s announcement only reinforces that.

"We want to thank the Australian Government as well as the New Zealand Government for their support so far, as we aim for a positive outcome in the coming days," Marinos says.

The series was scheduled to move to Australia for an August 21 Test in Perth, before then returning to NZ for the third Test in Wellington.

SHARE ME

More Stories