SA Rugby has reportedly outlined a radically altered calendar that aims to restart the 2020 season on June 5.
Image copyright – Steve Haag Sports
According to the Afrikaans Rapport newspaper, the governing body presented their plan for the remainder of the year via a video meeting with the MyPlayers organisation last week.
It contained the following proposals:
A two-month tournament featuring the country’s four Vodacom Super Rugby teams and two Pro14 teams to start on June 5
– The Rugby Championship to be played in August and September, with the Provincial Rugby Challenge and Currie Cup taking place at the same time
– Moving the Springboks’ two Tests against Scotland, originally scheduled for July, to October, with the mid-year Test against Georgia getting cancelled
– Going ahead with the November Tests against Italy, Ireland, France and Wales as planned.
– At the start of the month, South African rugby stakeholders revealed they had come together to prepare a long-term strategy to deal with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“These are dark times but we are united in our approach and determined that together we will get through this,” SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux said at the time.
“Returning to play as soon as possible is critical for the industry and until we know what that date is – and if it is sustainable in the face of the crisis – we cannot accurately understand the impacts.
“However, we have taken a realistic approach to the potential damage and have formulated a plan that will mitigate the immediate damage and provide the basis for an ongoing response.”
If the season were to be wiped out for the entire year due to the coronavirus, SA Rugby has warned it could face a predicted financial loss of around R200 million.
The new plan would have to be given the green light by the South African government before it could be put into action.
