International rugby heads to discuss coronavirus tonight
International rugby leaders will this evening discuss the impact of coronavirus on upcoming Super Rugby matches in New Zealand.
While the Ministry of Health has not proposed altering arrangements for public events today, various sporting and cultural events have been cancelled or postponed including Auckland’s Pasifika Festival and surf contest Piha Pro.
SANZAAR said the prohibition on crowds at major sports events in Buenos Aires meant tomorrow’s match between the Jaguares and the Highlanders will be in a closed stadium. ESPN will broadcast the game.
NZ Rugby chair Brent Impey told BusinessDesk that no domestic games are cancelled at this stage, but said the four heads of the SANZAAR countries are meeting this evening “to secure further updates.”
Impey noted that tomorrow’s match at Auckland’s Eden Park between the Blues and the Lions is still scheduled, even though Pasifika is cancelled. The game has shifted to an earlier time of 4.25pm in the afternoon, reportedly to accommodate the Crusaders-Sunwolves game being relocated from Tokyo because of covid-19.
“In terms of the broadcasting rights, the situation is that where there is a force majeure type situation, it’s out of your control, and that’s just the way it is,” Impey said.
Broadcasting rights made up about 40 percent of NZ Rugby's revenue, according to its most recent financial statements for calendar 2018.
Under SANZAAR rules, a game can be postponed or cancelled with the consent of all four partners. This was last invoked about a year ago after the Christchurch mosque shootings, Impey said.
While those one-off cancellations were covered by broadcasting rights contracts, “the question which is more appropriate, which we can’t answer at the minute, is what if this is a for a long, sustained period? And that question is yet to be addressed.”
“We are assessing downside scenarios, there could be financial impacts clearly,” Impey said.
Eden Park, which next week hosts a doubleheader of league and union, said it can host tomorrow’s Blues game and has a range of precautionary measures in place.
“This period continues to be an uncertain time for the event industry however the health of our staff, patrons and visiting athletes remains our priority,” it said in a statement on its website.
New Zealand has five confirmed cases of covid-19, all in Auckland.
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