The latest announcements from the New Zealand government could undermine any chances that New Zealand Rugby had of setting up a competition to replace the suspended Super Rugby season.
New Zealand Health Minister David Clark has announced that mass gatherings will be limited to 100 people when hosted indoors.
The government has further stipulated that, although schools, universities and workplaces are exempt from this ruling, it does apply to sporting and religious events.
Whether stadium-hosted events count as indoors or outdoors is unclear, but any chances of a replacement Super Rugby tournament getting off the ground will be cut off at the knees if matches are restricted to fewer than 100 people – even if the games are closed off to the public.
According to Stuff.co, a crowdless Super Rugby game would still require around 150 people present at a stadium, including players, security and stadium support staff.
A domestic, fan-free competition between New Zealand's five Super Rugby franchises was seen as the potential saviour to the country's professional rugby season with New Zealand Rugby and key broadcaster Sky already both set to lose huge amounts of revenue due to coronavirus.
By: Dhanjay Source: NZ Herald
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