Sharks CEO Eduard Coetzee says their players have been given the week off following the indefinite suspension of the Vodacom Super Rugby season.
The southern-hemisphere championship, which features 15 teams across five countries and 16 time zones, was halted after this weekend’s round seven when New Zealand imposed travel restrictions from midnight on Sunday demanding that all inbound travellers self-isolate for 14 days.
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The Sharks were scheduled to host the Chiefs this coming weekend before enjoying a bye in round nine the following week. However, because of the suspension of the competition, the Sharks have stopped training for this week and will reassemble next week.
‘The team was scheduled to have next week off [ahead of a bye], so we’ve just moved that forward to this week. We’ll monitor the situation carefully and put safety measures in place for the players,’ Coetzee told RugbyRocks.com.
‘From a training point of view, we will carry on from next week and stay in competition mode until we know anything different.’
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Asked what the Sharks’ stance were on the indefinite break in play, Coetzee said the coronavirus crisis just highlighted to them that there are more important things in life than sport.
‘Yes, we did expect it – it didn’t come as a shock – we just didn’t know when it would happen. But there are more important things than sport, which seems important to us and helps us to escape reality. We’ve now got to change our focus to support our communities and the greater international community.’
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
