Covid-19 restrictions have forced the cancellation of two Super Rugby Pacific pre-season fixtures less than a month out from the beginning of the new season.
The Highlanders confirmed that New Zealand’s nationwide move into its red light Covid setting has resulted in the axing of its February 11 clash against Moana Pasifika in Queenstown. Across the Tasman Sea in Australia, the Western Force have also been forced to pull the pin on Sunday’s pre-season bout with the Fijian Drua in Ballina, New South Wales, due to updated border restrictions for Western Australia.
The announcements come a day after the Crusaders announced its pre-season clash against the Hurricanes would be relocated from Blenheim to Christchurch and would be played behind closed doors. The Highlanders added that its other pre-season match – the side’s annual Farmlands Cup outing against the Crusaders, which is scheduled to take place in Oamaru next Friday – will also now be played behind closed doors.
The Dunedin-based franchise’s decision to pull the plug on the Moana Pasifika match is a double blow for Queenstown as it comes after last year’s Super Rugby Trans-Tasman fixture between the Highlanders and Melbourne Rebels was moved to Sydney amid a travel pause between New Zealand and Victoria.
However, the Highlanders indicated in a statement released on Tuesday that the match against Moana Pasifika could still go ahead on February 11 if a new venue is found. No such relocation will be enforced by the Force, though, as the Perth-based franchise’s chief executive Tony Lewis expressed his disappointment that his side’s clash against the Drua won’t go ahead as planned.
“We are very disappointed to not be playing Fijian Drua this weekend,” Lewis said via a statement.
“The recent announcement regarding the movement in and out of Western Australia is something we have no control over and we will not be putting our players and their families in a position of uncertainty around returning home. We are continuing to work closely with the government to ensure we deliver seven home games this season and gain further clarity on the situation.”
