Blow to sport as URC cancel SA matches

IN sad news for South African rugby, this weekend’s round six matches in the United Rugby Championship in South Africa have officially been postponed due to the emergence of a new variant of Covid-19 (B.1.1.529).

Next week’s round seven matches have also been postponed.

In a statement, the organisers said that due to the sudden developments that had placed South Africa on the UK and EU travel red list, the matches would be rescheduled for later this season.

“The safety and well-being of our participating clubs’ players, coaches, support staff and match officials is the foremost priority and the URC is currently working with the four visiting clubs – Cardiff, Munster, Scarlets and Zebre – to facilitate their return as soon as possible,” the statement advised.

“This decision is based upon the latest guidance against non-essential travel to and from South Africa, the ban on direct flights to the UK and other home destinations and the potential hotel quarantines enforced upon those returning from South Africa.

“As has been the operating practice throughout the pandemic, the URC will continue engaging with our Medical Advisory Group, our union shareholders and respective governments to plan according to the latest health guidelines.

“A period of assessment will now be required to better understand the impact of these new travel restrictions and how to reschedule these games within the current season. Given the nature and speed of these developments, URC will provide further updates at the appropriate time through official channels only.”

Yesterday morning, the news broke that the Welsh teams in South Africa were scrambling to get home before the red list ban on SA was enacted by the UK government at 2pm, so they would not have to go into 10-day isolation periods at home.

The Scarlets tweeted that they were “making every effort to get our touring party home as soon as possible” while Cardiff said they were looking to repatriate their team ASAP “to ensure the safety and welfare of our people”.

The cancellation of the weekend’s URC fixtures in SA is a massive setback for rugby in this country because it was due to mark the return of a limited number of fans (2000) to stadiums.

The SA teams also are in desperate need to gain log points and climb the ladder after underwhelming tours of Europe in September and October.