NZ Club rugby (general)
NZ Club rugby (general)
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Media release from New Zealand Rugby
New Zealand Rugby Statement: COVID-19 Club and school rugby participation update 16 MARCH 2020 Statement from Steve Lancaster, New Zealand Rugby Head of Participation and Development regarding COVID-19 and club and school rugby participation in New Zealand: New Zealand Rugby continues to follow the COVID-19 advice provided by the Ministry of Health regarding public events and mass gatherings. At present there are no restrictions on mass gatherings or community activities. Given the fast-changing situation, these guidelines and advice are subject to change. We are expecting more guidance and direction tomorrow from the government regarding mass gatherings and community activities. We are continuing to monitor the situation with a view that health and safety is the number one priority for both rugby and the wider community. New Zealand Rugby advises our Provincial Unions, clubs and schools to make decisions which are best for their participants, whanau and communities. We also ask that everyone involved in the game maintain good hygiene practices, including regularly washing hands, rugby equipment and not sharing water bottles. Players, coaches, referees, parents and administrators are asked to stay away from rugby trainings, activities and meetings if they are feeling unwell. New Zealand Rugby and Provincial Unions are monitoring the situation constantly and will provide regular updates as and when they become available. We continue to ask everyone involved in rugby to support one another and follow the official government guidelines. -
Government advises that all events of more than 500 people should be cancelled.
How many club games get more than 500 spectators? I read that Waikato was launching their club season this Sat with all teams playing at the same venue (Bedford Park, Matamata). Changes will need to be made now.
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@Stargazer Only 2 fields but you would think there will be supporters from all premier club teams there, which will add up.
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@Stargazer said in NZ Club rugby (general):
"Where your colours .."
Arrrgggghhhhhhh
It's a good question for Adidas and super rugby alternative strips 'where (are) your colours' - cos they just gave us shitty grey blue!
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@Bovidae Kensington Park in Whangarei where they play all kids rugby upto U12 and some U13 (7 or 8 fields I think) numerous netball courts and soccer fields and 3 hockey turfs, so most winter Saturdays there are thousands upon thousands of people about from 9am through to midday...
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@taniwharugby said in NZ Club rugby (general):
@Bovidae Kensington Park in Whangarei where they play all kids rugby upto U12 and some U13 (7 or 8 fields I think) numerous netball courts and soccer fields and 3 hockey turfs, so most winter Saturdays there are thousands upon thousands of people about from 9am through to midday...
Junior sports is a different beast. I was thinking more senior sport.
I see tonight's netball will now be played behind closed doors and NZC has cancelled the last 2 rounds of Plunket Shield cricket. They'd be lucky to get 50 people to their games. Interesting times ahead.
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@taniwharugby said in NZ Club rugby (general):
@Bovidae Kensington Park in Whangarei where they play all kids rugby upto U12 and some U13 (7 or 8 fields I think) numerous netball courts and soccer fields and 3 hockey turfs, so most winter Saturdays there are thousands upon thousands of people about from 9am through to midday...
Yeah I was thinking exactly that. To me that is def 500+ and should be cancelled. If the govt, tomorrow it seems, comes out with that I really can't see any sports going ahead until this is downgraded
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Wellington Club Rugby
COMMUNITY RUGBY SEASON DELAYED UNTIL AT LEAST APRIL 18
Due to the ongoing safety concerns regarding the Covid-19 outbreak, Wellington Rugby regret to advise that all community rugby has been suspended for four weeks, effective immediately. This means the postponement of the start of the club rugby season this Saturday 21 March, with all club rugby now re-scheduled to begin on Saturday 18 April. Contact training will resume from Monday 13 April. These dates are subject to change if required. Community rugby activity includes the playing of all games, tournaments, trainings and contact trainings; as well as WRFU-led face to face rugby education (coaching) courses. We will be forwarding NZR's guidance on this directive later this evening. -
@Stargazer said in NZ Club rugby (general):
Wellington Club Rugby
COMMUNITY RUGBY SEASON DELAYED UNTIL AT LEAST APRIL 18
Due to the ongoing safety concerns regarding the Covid-19 outbreak, Wellington Rugby regret to advise that all community rugby has been suspended for four weeks, effective immediately. This means the postponement of the start of the club rugby season this Saturday 21 March, with all club rugby now re-scheduled to begin on Saturday 18 April. Contact training will resume from Monday 13 April. These dates are subject to change if required. Community rugby activity includes the playing of all games, tournaments, trainings and contact trainings; as well as WRFU-led face to face rugby education (coaching) courses. We will be forwarding NZR's guidance on this directive later this evening.I expect most other provinces will follow suit.
Netball ANZ has also postponed all community netball until mid May. -
MANAWATU RU CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
Following on from yesterday’s communication to clubs around Covid-19 (Coronavirus), the Government announced late yesterday afternoon to limit gatherings of more than 500 people. With that, Manawatu Rugby would like to advise the following: We are continuing to work on this issue and no decision has yet been made to postpone or cancel club rugby in the Manawatu. The announcement from Government around crowd sizes and other measures including “social distancing”. Government has advised that more specific advice will be provided as the week progresses. We are following up and seeking further clarification to mitigate any risk in and around our communities, particularly at events. We will continue to work closely with NZR ensuring that player and spectator safety is our first priority. We have a duty of care to our participants and that is at the forefront of our thoughts. Clubs can expect further updates as we are updated of more information. These are unprecedented and rapidly changing times, but we recommend that all clubs continue to prepare for club rugby to be played this weekend. We will notify our Rugby community of any changes to that view as soon as possible. -
As you may or may not be aware, the government this week announced further measures to curb the outbreak of Covid-19. These measures effectively prohibit public gatherings of more than 500 people. These latest measures have resulted in the Cancellation of the Premier Club Launch Day to be held at UMS this weekend; those matches are now to be held as per the draw, on a normal home and away team basisAt this stage, and subject to any further measures from the government, it is considered that standard and/or schools matches are unlikely to reach the 500 attendee limit, and may therefore continue as scheduled. However, we don’t live in a Police State, so if your club or school (Including stakeholders and supporters) is participating in WRU managed competitions and is unwilling to run the scheduled matches due to concern for the safety of your community, then you are well within your rights to default on those matches, or cancel them by agreement with the opposition – I would like to think that you would be supported by all of us if you took that position. All we would ask is that you let us know if this is the case so that we can let referees and any other interested parties know. -
New Zealand Rugby continues to follow the COVID-19 advice provided by the Ministry of Health regarding public events and mass gatherings. At present there are no restrictions on mass gatherings or community activities under 500 people. The TRFU we are monitoring the situation and following guidance from NZR. Currently, club rugby is due to commence on time. -
AND ... the statements from Manawatu, Waikato and Taranaki are now apparently outdated. As @Gunner said, other provinces will follow.
Because they have to. There's a new NZR directive (haven't seen it yet), according to this announcement from Auckland Rugby:
Community Rugby Update regarding Covid-19 Auckland Rugby has been closely following NZ Rugby and Ministry of Health advice. This afternoon, NZ Rugby have provided a directive postponing all organised community rugby games across New Zealand until 18 April. At which point NZR reserve the right to review. Key points from NZ Rugby are below; - All rugby matches are postponed until Saturday, 18 April - At this stage, full training can resume from Monday, 13 April - Non-contact training activities including Rippa can continue with sensible hygiene protocols observed - Use personal water bottles – don’t share with others - Ensure rugby equipment is regularly cleaned - Maintaining fitness is encouraged - Registering for rugby can continue online - Coach, referee and education activities can continue within Ministry of Health guidelines - Stay at home if you are feeling unwell - Regularly wash hands - Decisions about school and junior club rugby will be made in the next few weeks - Follow the Ministry of Health Guidelines: www.health.govt.nz - Do what is best for you and your communities to keep them safe and healthy This is a step which was not taken lightly, and Auckland Rugby is focused on building a strong rugby whanau with a priority on the health and safety of staff, players, volunteers in our community. This is a rapidly evolving situation and we will continue to take advice from the both NZ Rugby and the Ministry of Health. -
COVID-19: Club Rugby participation in New Zealand 17 MARCH 2020 New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has decided to postpone all club and community rugby until Saturday, 18 April, effective immediately. The postponement includes all rugby matches. Non-contact training activities can continue at least in the short term while we continue to monitor the situation with the Ministry of Health. All team-based activity will be adapted to comply with the limits the Ministry has set. This includes minimising person-to-person contact and maintaining hygiene standards including not sharing drink bottles, washing hands and regularly cleaning rugby equipment. It is a difficult decision for our organisation to make but it is important that we do this in the interests of the health of all rugby participants. The well-being of our players, coaches, referees, volunteers, supporters and the wider New Zealand community is our top priority. And, while this will be disappointing for many, postponing rugby for the time being is in everyone’s best interests. Rugby plays an important role in New Zealand communities and at this time of uncertainty the postponement of rugby matches allows everyone to pause, and take care of themselves and their whanau. It also gives the Provincial Unions and local competition organisers the opportunity to regroup, reschedule and determine how they can deliver meaningful competition when rugby resumes. School rugby and in most cases junior club rugby competitions start in early May and are therefore unaffected by the postponement at this stage. Given the situation with COVID-19 is constantly changing we continue to ask everyone involved in rugby to support one another and follow the official government guidelines, and we will also be reviewing activity daily bases on this advice For more information on COVID-19 and official government guidelines please visit www.health.govt.nzWhat you need to know: * All rugby matches are postponed until Saturday, 18 April * At this stage, full-contacttraining can resume from Monday, 13 April * Non-contact training activities can continue with sensible hygiene protocols observed * Use personal water bottles – don’t share with others * Ensure rugby equipment is regularly cleaned * Maintaining fitness is encouraged * Registering for rugby can continue online * Coach, referee and education activities can continue within Ministry of Health guidelines * Stay at home if you are feeling unwell * Regularly wash hands * School and junior club rugby commence after 18 April so are not included in this postponement * Follow the Ministry of Health Guidelines: www.health.govt.nz * Do what is best for you and your communities to keep them safe and healthy -
UPDATE: COVID-19 New Zealand Rugby club rugby participation
18 MARCH 2020New Zealand Rugby (NZR) would like to provide further clarification regarding the postponement of all club and community rugby until 18 April, effective immediately. The postponement includes: * All rugby matches - including Club, School (secondary and primary) Junior and Rippa * All contact training The postponement does NOT include: * Meetings and workshops for less than 500 people. We love rugby as much as you do so please be assured this decision wasn’t taken lightly. Playing rugby and contact training involves close proximity which brings a high-risk level of spreading viruses. Postponing Rugby is also about protecting our rugby spectators. We can’t limit the number of people who turn up to support their team and have no record of their attendance should we need to contact them regarding potential Covid-19 exposure. We emphasise there are no restrictions to holding meetings or workshops as long as the Ministry of Health’s guidelines are followed www.health.govt.nz. However, there is also no compulsion to run these activities. If you don’t feel comfortable running or attending them then please do not do so. The situation is ever changing. Please continue to check in with the New Zealand Rugby website www.newzealand.rugby and New Zealand Rugby Official social media channels for updates, as well as with the communications channels of your Provincial Union and Club. Decisions about attendance at any activity should be made with regard for the best interests of yourself, your whanau and your community.
