DURBAN - South African rugby woke up to a significant boost when the governmental green light for a return to full-contact was issued.
The country’s players will relish at last being able to get fully stuck in at training, from early next week after final health checks have been completed.
That means the Bulls, Lions, Sharks, Stormers, Cheetahs, Pumas and Griquas are now only a few weeks away from playing each other in a competition that SA Rugby is yet to launch.
There is strong speculation that the Super Rugby franchises will first play each other in mini competition and then a Currie Cup will follow. It is accepted that players need at least three to four weeks of contact training to get match ready.
SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux welcomed the development: “The teams have been hard at work with non-contact training for the past five weeks, and once a final Covid-19 test has been passed, they will be able to step up a gear next week.
‘We are moving in the right direction and I would like to urge all rugby supporters and members of the wider South African rugby family to bear with us as we plan the way forward for the next couple of weeks.
“With the guidance of Government and with us working very hard with our various stakeholders, we’ve knuckled down and plotted our return to competitive action, which is getting closer every day. But we’re also very mindful of the pitfalls associated with this and we know things can change overnight.”
Super Rugby was halted in late March this year, meaning it will be at least six months that the players will not have played the game, with a likely start to matches being the weekend of September 18-19.
“Once we’ve finalised all the relevant plans and we’ve aligned with our broadcast partner, sponsors, franchises and other stakeholders, we’ll confirm the playing schedule,” Roux concluded.
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