New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson says there is still no clarity on the prospects for Test rugby in 2020, but that they will explore every avenue to make it happen.
Addressing the media via conference call, Robinson said the Test season prospects remains unclear, but did concede they would go as late as they could if there was any chance of getting the All Blacks on the field.
‘We’re factoring in any international, cross-border play for later in the year. It’s incredibly fluid and everything is on the table. Our feeling is we just need to make a start once we get the proper green light around [Vodacom] Super Rugby and see what time and opportunities that gives us for any other rugby later in the year,’ Robinson said.
‘We’d love to play some form of international rugby. We’ve made no secret of the fact that’s where we derive the large share of our income from. It will be important later in the year if we can get some and, if not, we’ve just got to keep working through plans we have in terms of responding to Covid-19 and making the best of the domestic series we have.
‘We’ve got a very open view on that and we’re talking through a lot of different scenarios that potentially sees New Zealand rugby players playing into December.’
On the point of the Rugby Championship possibly being played at one venue, with Perth touted as the potential host nation, Robinson confirmed that the possibilities are being explored at this point.
‘We’d have to consider any and all possibilities and as we get more detail around what the trans-Tasman bubble might mean, and the realities of border controls and any quarantine measures, we can start to understand whether we could get four teams playing in that format. But at this stage it’s too early to say,’ Robinson explained.
He added that at this stage it is a straight toss-up between cancellation and postponement until the end of the year.
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