Uncertainty over Bledisloe Rugby Championship after Kiwi border closure

By Tom DecentUpdated July 23, 2021 â€" 3.26pmfirst published at 12.55pm

Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby will seek a government exemption for players to move freely across the ditch for Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship matches after quarantine-free travel between the countries was paused for two months.

Rugby officials were on Friday scrambling to establish contigency plans for three Bledisloe Tests between the Wallabies and All Blacks next month, following the closure of the trans-Tasman bubble by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Restrictions on travel from NSW and Victoria to New Zealand were already in place due to active COVID outbreaks but Prime Minister Ardern extended the two-month ban to all of Australia.

The Wallabies, who are based in Queensland, are set to play a Bledisloe Cup opener on August 7 in Auckland but Friday’s news could scupper those plans ahead of two more Tests against New Zealand on August 21 in Perth, and on August 28 in Wellington.

Ardern told New Zealand media she would consider an application for an exemption from the Wallabies and RA confirmed it will seek that exemption for Dave Rennie’s squad, which has been in a bubble on the Gold Coast. But the clock is ticking.

The trans-Tasman bubble will pause from 11.59pm on Friday night local time in New Zealand (9.59pm AEST) but there will be flights over the next seven days from Australia to New Zealand to allow Kiwi citizens and residents to return home.

The Wallabies may be tempted to jump on a plane in the next seven days, earlier than they would have liked, but won’t do so unless they know what the rest of the international calendar looks like.

The best case scenario is for Australia and New Zealand to be granted travel exemptions and for all the Bledisloe Cup fixtures to be played in the scheduled venues. But a worst-case scenario is having to move all the matches to one country, depending on border restrictions.

“New Zealand Rugby (NZR), Rugby Australia (RA) and SANZAAR will evaluate its options,” read a joint statement.

RA chief executive Andy Marinos said in a statement: “We are working closely with New Zealand Rugby and the various governments through different scenarios now. We [will] aim for a positive outcome in the coming days.

“The Wallabies team have been in a secure bubble since the conclusion of the France series, with the squad assembled on the Gold Coast. The players are regularly PCR tested and have maintained strict biosecurity protocols as recommended by the ‘Return To Play Committee’ and the relevant health authorities.”

If the All Blacks cannot have a guarantee of being able to return to New Zealand after the August 21 match in Perth, they would be highly unlikely to depart Kiwi shores.

There are also implications for the Rugby Championship. South Africa and Argentina were set to travel between Australia and New Zealand for matches in September and October.

Wallabies captain Michael Hooper.Credit:Getty

South Africa and Argentina are scheduled to do two weeks of quarantine in Australia before the Rugby Championship. While Australia is playing South Africa across two Tests in Sydney and Brisbane (September 12 and September 18), Argentina is supposed to be in New Zealand for back-to-back matches against the All Blacks.

The Springboks and Pumas are scheduled to swap locations to finish off the remaining two rounds of the Rugby Championship.

“SANZAAR along with its member national unions â€" NZR, RA, South Africa Rugby and Argentina Rugby Union â€" will announce any potential and necessary changes to the tournament schedule in due course,” read a statement.

There is a chance the Wallabies might be able to get into New Zealand but the problem lies in what happens in late August and September.

“If there are significant economic issues that are brought up by the closure in that seven-day window that can be resolved then we have a delegated minister to work through any of those issues,” Ardern said. “However, it must be in the seven-day window, we are not making exceptions outside of that. Everyone else has to go into quarantine.”

A three-Test Bledisloe series in New Zealand could be an option to reduce the number of international flights but RA would not be keen to give up a Perth match.

The Wallabies have been based on the Gold Coast due to COVID-19 outbreaks in other parts of the country, notably NSW and Victoria.

A host of Wallabies players are bracing for life on the road over the coming months with no guarantee they will return home before October.

The unpredictable nature of COVID-19 in a world without a fully vaccinated population has made domestic and international travel extremely tricky for sporting teams.

Following a series win against France, Wallabies players would have normally had a week in their home states in recent days before returning to camp in Queensland on July 25, but with Sydney and Melbourne in lockdown, players have been banned from returning COVID-19 hotspot areas.

The only players who have been allowed to leave Queensland are Brumbies representatives given Canberra is a low risk at present.

The Wallabies also need to be on alert given Western Australia’s hardline border stance.

Even with an SCG Test against South Africa set for September 12, Waratahs players are no guarantee to be in their own beds for the week leading up to the match.

Meanwhile, star winger Marika Koroibete on Friday confirmed a move to Japan where he will turn out for Panasonic Wild Knights, clouding his Wallabies future beyond January.

Coach Dave Rennie is reluctant to call on foreign-based players for the national side.

“I am very excited to be joining Saitama from 2022 season. I have been a big fan of the growing game in Japan and enjoyed my time in the country for the 2019 Rugby World Cup,” Koroibete said.

“I have heard great things about Robbie Deans’ coaching and have had pleasant experiences in our brief chats so far. I cannot wait to join Robbie’s coaching staff and the rest of the team, train hard and get the fans off their seats.”

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Tom Decent is a journalist with The Sydney Morning Herald

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