After the recent announcement by the Government regarding COVID 19 we have been continuing the work already underway to understand the implications for all of rugby.

As we all appreciate this is an unprecedented and very dynamic situation, and things are constantly changing. Therefore our updated advice for community Rugby, since our last update on 17 March is as follows.

Our advice to Provincial Unions is to POSTPONE all Game Development Workshops including Rugby Smarts, Small Blacks, Coach and Referee workshops until further notice. 

Our recommendation is also to CANCEL all team and group-based rugby trainings.  Although these measures are not explicitly required by the Government, these measures will help to minimise the risk of person to person transmission.

This position is to stay in effect until April 18^th, or further notice. With the advice that this pandemic will last far longer than weeks, we will review the proposed start date of rugby and provide on-going advice on that in due course also. 

We are also continuing to work a number of scenarios regarding alternative working arrangements and competitions and as soon as NZR’s position is confirmed we will share this with you so you can factor that into your own workplace’s responses. In the meantime, you can also find more information regarding rugby’s response to COVID-19 on our website https://www.nzrugby.co.nz/news-and-events/covid-19/, or for more general information on COVID-19 the Government’s website https://covid19.govt.nz/

Article added: Monday 23 March 2020