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South African Springboks players celebrate their victory over Argentina’s Pumas after the 2019 Rugby Championship match between Argentina and South Africa at the Ernesto Martearena Stadium, in Salta, Argentina, on August 10, 2019. EPA-EFE / Jan Touzeau
Questions persist after Sanzaar announced the revised Rugby Championship schedule.
First published in Daily Maverick 168
Buried in the 683 words of a statement released by South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby (Sanzaar) on Thursday announcing the 12-match 2020 Rugby Championship schedule, it was a line that probably said more about the situation.
“South Africa’s participation has yet to be confirmed as the decision depends on several factors outside of Sanzaar’s control.”
It is becoming increasingly clear that the 2019 Rugby Championship and World Cup winners have almost run out of time to fly to Australia for the competition.
The government did not publish new Tier 1 travel regulations until October 7. Boks can now travel to countries with a moderate threat from Covid-19. Australia is low risk.
But the Boks face the problem of assembling a squad in time to have meaningful preparation, especially under quarantine conditions.
“In addition to the current regulation, other factors we have to deal with would be the period of isolation that we will have to go through when we get to Australia,” Bok coach Jacques Nienaber said recently.
“We have been on weekly calls. The isolation period will not be as strict as in New Zealand, but the details around it, such as what recovery facilities and what modalities we can use, have yet to be detailed. We are waiting for the Australian government to give us guidance in terms of what we can do when we get there.
“The latest is the availability of our players abroad. Currently World Rugby Regulation 9 allows us to call players at the window. But there has been a huge setback from English clubs. That would be problematic for us, as we would get those players a bit later. That has a huge influence on the period of isolation. “
The trial period, which is regulated by the World Rugby coordinating body, reserves certain weeks for international matches to be played. But it doesn’t allow enough Covid-19 quarantine protocols, which could add up to four weeks to the calendar on its side of the competition.
Logistical problems
Under World Rugby’s tight plan, in the Northern Hemisphere, the Six Nations will be completed between October 24 and October 31. There will be a bye week followed by four trial weekends, ending on December 6.
In the southern hemisphere, a condensed version of the Rugby Championship has been scheduled from November 7 to December 12.
For French clubs, it would mean losing players from the northern hemisphere from October 24 to December 7 and players from the southern hemisphere from November 1 to December 12 to the Rugby Championship.
But that’s only for the trial weeks. For Springbok players who are in the Northern Hemisphere, they should be released earlier due to health and safety guidelines around Covid-19. It would require an additional two weeks away at least for Bok players who need 14 days of quarantine in Australia. This scenario is not covered by the temporary regulations.
For a test to be played on November 7 (the test week is thus November 1-7), the Boks would have to begin their quarantine on October 17.
National rugby director Rassie Erasmus said there had been progress in negotiations with French clubs, but English clubs could still be problematic if the Boks played.
“English clubs will be in their semi-finals and final and we don’t have a clear answer on when their players will be available,” Erasmus said. “The French clubs are aligned with us.
“You have to get to Australia at the same time and it will be a huge squad because you have to be there for eight weeks.
“The quarantine alone is two weeks. He would have to take four loose heads, hard heads and prostitutes. If he is injured in any of those key positions, the player entering [as a replacement] has to be quarantined for two weeks. So, you simply have to take a massive squad.
“That makes it problematic, it’s not that we can’t get over it, if foreign players only arrive two weeks after us because of the Premiership final. Then when we start playing Argentina in the first two weeks, they will still be in quarantine and will not have high performance support like doctors or physical therapists. They will be left physically alone. “
Player well-being and stakeholder relationships
Player welfare and reputational damage are also factors SA Rugby is struggling with as it balances that with appeasing sponsors if they decide not to go, as well as loss of streaming revenue.
Fortunately, on the last point, there was a new collective agreement related to Covid-19. SA Rugby will continue to earn a fee, even if the Rugby Championship goes ahead without the Boks.
When new dates for the tournament were being planned, none of the Sanzaar members knew for sure where they would be on the Covid-19 timeline. So it was decided that everyone would share the income from the broadcast even if one member couldn’t participate.
The mental well-being of the players is also an important consideration because the tour to Australia will mean eight weeks from now, the first two of which will be in a strict quarantine environment. That would be in addition to the restrictive blockade of South Africa for the past six months, which has has already taken a heavy mental and physical toll on the players.
“Because South Africa was in a really difficult lockdown, we have to get five to six games for the players before it is safe for them from an injury perspective,” Erasmus said.
“These players will be away from home for so long and they will live in a bubble. And then when they come back from Australia, they will have to quarantine them again, ”he added.
“The players who have about 400 or 500 minutes of play, which we need to be competitive and safe, are those who are abroad. But even the players with the most minutes will have a little over 400 when we leave. Internally, we are figuring out how to get the guys to the right level. ” DM168
