SA Rugby have confirmed that the Springboks’ July Test matches against Scotland and Georgia have been postponed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
This comes after World Rugby announced that all internationals during the July window will have to be postponed in line with ongoing government and health agency Covid-19 directives.
Extended travel and quarantine restrictions that apply to numerous countries, and concerns over adequate player preparation time, mean that any sort of cross-border international rugby competition cannot be hosted in July.
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The Springboks were scheduled to play Scotland in a two-game home Test series in Cape Town (on 4 July, Newlands) and Durban (11 July, Kings Park), while the first-ever match between the Boks and Georgia on South African soil, was penciled in for Port Elizabeth (18 July, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium).
Monitoring of the potential impact on the remaining 2020 international windows continues in collaboration with international rugby stakeholders and the respective authorities.
All parties, including member unions, international competitions, professional club competitions and International Rugby Players, will be involved in the evaluation of potential contingency options with a view to achieving an aligned calendar for the remainder of the year.
All decision-making will be entirely contingent on national government travel, quarantine and health advice and important player welfare and hosting considerations in line with return-to-rugby guidance recently published by World Rugby.
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‘Any solution will have player health, welfare and appropriate return-to-play protocols at heart,’ said SA Rugby chief executive Jurie Roux,
‘It would be inappropriate to comment of potential solutions during a fluid and important consultation process.’
Photo: Marty Melville/AFP Photo
