2020 School Rugby
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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. -
I don't think this already affects rugby, but I guess that's just a matter of time:
SCHOOL SPORT EVENTS ON NATIONAL CALENDAR SUSPENDED
Following the government announcement today banning gatherings and events of 500 or more and in conjunction with NSOs with events scheduled this term, the board of School Sport NZ has confirmed that all events on the School Sport NZ national calendar are suspended. This decision will be reviewed on Monday 6th April. Some events where alternative dates are not possible will be cancelled, others may be postponed and we will work with NSOs to make announcements in due course. The government directive banning mass gatherings of over 500 people automatically causes the cancellation or postponement of a number of events in the next 2 weeks. With so many big events automatically suspended the level of uncertainty has the potential to significantly disrupt attendance at all events. In making this decision to suspend events on the School Sport NZ national calendar both School Sport NZ and NSOs agree that the paramount factor is the health and safety of students, staff and community volunteers. The current environment already features a number of individual schools cancelling their own events such as sport exchanges and camps and making decisions limiting travel and participation. Events on the School Sport NZ national calendar feature schools travelling from all over New Zealand and as such present a potentially heightened risk of wider community spread by comparison to regional or local events. Medical advice is that the risk of transmission is low at community level, where there has been no person-to-person spread, but significantly higher in situations in which airports, air-travel and hotels are involved as characterised by events on the School Sport NZ national calendar. While student participants are registered, the ‘un-ticketed’ nature of events on the national calendar make it extremely difficult to contact trace as other attendees are not registered. The close personal contact nature of sport carries a heightened risk of person to person transfer. Regional bodies will need to consider their own circumstances in relation to their regional and local events. -
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@Bovidae The media release says "local":
NZSRU Chairman Garry Chronican said the early decision meant schools and organising committees can now prioritise running local competitions. “The Top Four championships have traditionally been the culmination of the secondary school rugby year. We’ve seen the start of school rugby disrupted already and now local secondary competitions can plan for a full season.I really hope they mean the likes of Super 8, and not really local (as in limited to schools from own province). In Hawke's Bay, the only really interesting game is between Napier and Hastings Boys. The rest are training runs.
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May is usually for preseason/traditional rivalry games with the 1A, Super 8, etc starting in June. They are already going to be 1-2 months behind their normal schedule. It will be a short season for teams outside of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch if it is really local.
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Bryn Hall's biggest regret: 'To this day, it still really hurts because we had such a great team and it's unfortunate that we didn't get the job done'
Bryn Hall has experienced unprecedented success since moving to the Crusaders in 2017 but it's one of his earlier experiences, well before the move south, that is one of the halfback's most deeply etched memories.
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The CNI Competition has been proposed to split into two sections - North and South, pools of five followed by cross over semi-finals and final.
The season will start on Saturday 25 July 2020.North
St Peter's Cambridge
St Paul's Collegiate
St Johns Hamilton
Wesley
FDMCSouth
Whanganui Collegiate School
Rathkeale
St John's Hastings
Lindisfarne
Feilding HSThe draw will be confirmed after the Government's announcement.
The North section will be so much stronger.
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Preseason games to be played on Sat 13 June 2020 (there may be more):
St Kentigern College v King's College @ St Kent's - 2.30pm (the livestream has been cancelled)
Sacred Heart College v Tauranga BC @ Sacred Heart - ??
St Kevins College v Roncalli College @ SKC - 1pm
Feilding HS v New Plymouth BHS @ Waverley - 1:30pm
Auckland GS v MAGS @ AGS - 2.30pm
St Bede's College v Christchurch BHS @ SBC- 2:30pm (2nd XV at 1.00pm)
St Thomas CC v Shirley BHS @ St Thomas - 12.30pm
St Andrew College v Lincoln Combined @ STAC - 12pm
Wanganui Collegiate v Manukura @ WC - 12pm
Lindisfarne College v Hastings BHS 2nd XV @ LC - 12pm
Freyberg HS v Hato Poara College @ FHS - 12:30
Timaru BHS v Kings HS @ TBHS - 12pm
Wakatipu HS v Dunstan HS @ WHS - 1pm
St Peter's College vs Liston College @ The Cage - 2:30pm
