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New Zealand and Australia are competing to host the Rugby Championship this year.
The Sanzaar unions will discuss the Rugby Championship on Thursday night with two options firmly on the table and a strong desire to pin down some dates to start planning.
However, the likelihood of the tournament being eliminated entirely due to concerns about South Africa’s lack of preparation time is waning, and Stuff was told by two sources that the Springboks and Pumas were highly motivated to participate to supply evidence for their stations.
“South Africans are coming, whether it’s New Zealand or Australia,” one told Stuff on Thursday.
The confirmation that the Sanzaar partners will formally discuss both New Zealand and Australia as hosts is a shift from their original position that New Zealand was the preferred host of the joint venture and will fuel fears that Australia has come to the forefront of The tail.
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Health Minister Chris Hipkins did not convey a sense of urgency in comments he made Thursday at a 1:00 pm briefing, saying: “They should be able to continue training. [the visiting teams] through his period of isolation, so the type of bubble fixes he would put in is one of the details currently being worked on. “
It has been almost three months since Sanzaar first announced that New Zealand was the “preferred” host and Stuff understands that Sanzaar is open to some decisions being made on Thursday so detailed planning for the tournament can begin.
A spokesman for Sanzaar declined to comment on the meeting, but a formal announcement is not expected until Friday.
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Health Minister Chris Hipkins reveals that two more cases of coronavirus have been found in the Auckland community, and two in isolation.
Meanwhile, Australian sources downplayed the possibility of “pinching” the Rugby Championship on Thursday, indicating that there was still work to be done on their bid.
They have a few factors going for them as Sanzaar tries to get the tournament off the ground.
Rugby is not currently played in New Zealand in front of crowds, while a crowd of up to approximately 25,000 will be allowed in Brisbane this weekend for the Reds v Rebels qualifying final at Super Rugby AU.
State level government support in Australia is also understood to be strong and Stuff has been told in recent weeks that Australian politicians were “moving fast to get there [The Rugby Championship] happen ”in its territory.
However, on Thursday no sound of champagne bottles was heard going through the ditch.
His planning didn’t begin until relatively late in the piece and there remain concerns in Australia that when it comes to the crisis, New Zealand’s initial status as Sanzaar’s preferred host will play in his favor.
Mark Tantrum / Getty Images
Key Springboks like midfielder Damian de Allende are already back in action in Europe.
Questions had previously been asked about the ability of South Africa and Argentina to prepare for the Rugby Championship, but they must also be weighed against their need to generate some income.
Without the Rugby Championship, the Springboks and Pumas are seeing a blank testing schedule, which would be a severe blow to their finances.
The Key Springboks are also playing in European competitions, with their No. 9-No. 10-No. 12 combination of Faf de Klerk, Handre Pollard and Damian de Allende in action for Sale, Montpelier and Munster respectively.
That could ease fears that the Springboks are not well done, but the underlying motivation for South Africa and Argentina is to play some tests to protect their balance sheets.
