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The Highlanders’ preseason game against the Hurricanes in Alexandra on Friday is no guarantee that it will go ahead, as Covid-19 threatens to wreak havoc at the start of Super Rugby Aotearoa.
Highlanders CEO Roger Clark chaired a press conference on Monday after Auckland entered Alert Level 3 while the rest of the country went to Level 2, admitting that the latest Covid-19 outbreak had set in motion. the best plans of the club.
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Aaron Smith and Ash Dixon are set to have some playing time on Friday if the Hurricanes’ game goes ahead.
“Like the rest of the country, we are waiting for the Prime Minister’s update at 4pm,” he said.
“But obviously we’ve been working with New Zealand Rugby and the Hurricanes, just looking at Plan A, Plan B, Plan C and even Plan D for Friday.”
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If the rest of Aotearoa remains at Level 2, no fans would be allowed to attend a match at Central Otago which is expected to draw a crowd of 6000-8000.
A Tier 2 setup would also prevent the Highlanders from undertaking promotional activities in the region the day before the game, and Clark also indicated that the complexities of getting both squads to Alexandra and back on the same day from Dunedin and Wellington, respectively, would also be weigh on the final decision.
The game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m., which means the Hurricanes will have a difficult time flying in from the capital and returning the same day.
“Having a crowd is just one of the things we need to consider,” Clark said.
“There are many other things that we will have to consider.
“…They [the Hurricanes] They came on game day and left the next day, but if we stay on Level 2, part of New Zealand Rugby protocols is that they have to travel in and out on the same game day, and we do the same.
“… like the rest of the country, we will be waiting to know if we are in Level 2 or in Level 1. If we are in Level 1 we can have a crowd and in Level 2 we cannot.
“Until we get to Wednesday [we won’t know] and we will make sure we have contingencies for each of those levels. “
Losing the game would be a severe blow to the city of Central Otago, as Clark revealed that the corporate allocation of tickets had already been exhausted.
Dianne manson
The Highlanders played the Waratahs in front of a large crowd in Alexandra in 2019.
“We are up around 1500-1600 [presale] tickets that for a preseason is unusual.
“We don’t usually sell that many for a preseason game.
“We would aim to have between 6000 and 800, but most are roll ins, depending on the last time we played [in 2019].
“The corporate areas are already sold out, I think there are about 800 people in them.”
Still, Clark said the Highlanders and Hurricanes coaches were eager to play Friday to welcome their All Blacks, who can play for 40 minutes this weekend, and build combinations.
Joe Allison / Getty Images
Highlanders CEO Roger Clark said Super Rugby teams had to adhere to stricter travel guidelines at Alert Level 2.
“From a rugby perspective, coaches always want to play, because everyone is gaining momentum and there is a plan to integrate the players,” Clark said.
“As you know, there are All Blacks on both teams and we have a lot of injured players who could have played this weekend but they didn’t because they knew they had this game.
“From a high performance perspective, they definitely want to play the game, both sets of coaches.
“I spoke to ‘Off’ [CEO Avan Lee] from the hurricanes this morning and they are in the same position as us. “
The Highlanders will start Super Rugby Aotearoa against the Crusaders on February 26, and the possible loss of supporters for that game if Dunedin remains at Level 2 is already causing some distress.
“It’s definitely something that floated through my mind when I got the [Covid-19] text my phone, “said Clark, who has said repeatedly in the last year that Super Rugby clubs need a minimum of six home games a year” just to survive. “
Meanwhile, the Highlanders have gotten bad news on the injury front, with their Wallabies mainstay Jermaine Ainsley sprained his ankle late last week.
Ainsley, a new recruit for the Melbourne Rebels, will miss the Super Rugby Aotearoa season, assistant coach Clark Dermody said Monday.
Loose prop Ayden Johnstone is also unavailable as he recovers from a concussion he suffered while training for the North-South game last year.
Johnstone missed the entire 10 Miter Cup campaign for Waikato and no definitive deadline has been set for his return.
