Moana Pasifika's Super Rugby debut has gotten off to a tough start. Photo / Photosport
Moana Pasifika's Super Rugby debut has gotten off to a tough start. Photo / Photosport
OPINION:
Disruption is merely beginning for Super Rugby Pacific as tipping point approaches faster than a Will Jordan bust from the backfield.
In the coming days, as the six New Zealand teams filter back to their respective home bases from the short-lived Queenstown bubble, further setbacks are certain to strikethe competition's inaugural season.
Prepare for more Covid cases to infiltrate teams and, in all likelihood, more postponed matches.
The Blues and Moana Pasifika stand to be hit hardest as they prepare to re-enter New Zealand's Covid hotspot. On Tuesday, Auckland accounted for 1802 of the country's 2846 cases – a figure growing exponentially by the day.
With players returning home, where they will join flatmates, partners, wives and children going about their everyday lives, any interactive restrictions placed on players will be near negligible in avoiding mandatory isolation periods and Covid's inevitable spread.
Organisers continue to hope for the best while preparing for the worst but they are essentially helpless. The timing of New Zealand's latest Covid outbreak leaves fate beyond anyone's control. And with millions of dollars in broadcast revenue at stake, that's a scary spot for New Zealand Rugby to be.
With two Moana Pasifika games against the Blues and Chiefs needing to be rescheduled as mid-week fixtures, headaches are mounting. The backlog is building, with little wriggle room.
Juggling player welfare and stringent health stipulations while attempting to maintain the competition's integrity is sure to force conflicting scenarios.
Highlanders players during a training session at the Queenstown Events Centre. Photo / Photosport
All New Zealand teams stand on the verge of fielding significantly weakened teams – in some cases scraping together enough fit players could be a serious challenge.
While Australia welcomes crowds back to their fixtures, NZ Rugby faces major hurdles to maintain their end of the bargain with 22 matches still to complete before transtasman games are scheduled to commence in Melbourne from April 22.
Quite how reciprocal games between New Zealand and Australia opposition will be played no one on this side of the ditch is willing to predict.
The hope is by mid-April the government will relax isolation periods and, perhaps, allow teams to travel in secure bubbles. But at present there is little willingness for sporting exceptions.
The prospect of all six New Zealand teams decamping to Australia for an extended period will not sit well with players.
To this point, no one has been more affected than Moana Pasifika having had one preseason game cancelled and two competition matches postponed.
From false starts to a bleak dawn, their maiden season grows more daunting each week.
Consider Moana Pasifika's tumultuous past two weeks. Their squad caught Covid before travelling to Queenstown. The entire team and management then spent 10 days locked in hotel rooms - 15 players isolating well past that period.
In order to make up their postponed fixtures Moana's schedule from here on will be relentless. Their next chance to debut comes against the Crusaders and they will face the competition favourites after one preseason game; a 61-7 loss to the Chiefs three weeks ago.
For a squad - featuring numerous Super Rugby rookies - that assembled for the first time on January 5 for a three-and-a-half preseason, resilience will be needed well beyond reasonable expectations.
Life lesson
Black Caps captain Tom Latham and teammates celebrate beating South Africa on day three of the first test. Photo / Photosport
Stop doubting the Black Caps.
Last week I subscribed to the theory that New Zealand, without Kane Williamson and Trent Boult, were vulnerable in the first test against South Africa, who arrived in Christchurch following their 2-1 home win over India.
In addition to Williamson and Boult's absences, the Black Caps appeared on the wane after their underwhelming home test defeat to Bangladesh, and away series loss to India.
Yet in a classic case of being proven deluded, the Black Caps proceeded to utterly dominate - winning by an innings and 276 runs inside three days. Gulp.
Worst still, I've been here before. Covering the 2019 World Cup semifinal against India at Old Trafford, I penned a comment suggesting "the cricketing gods must conjure a magic hooping white ball for the Black Caps to progress from this predicament" as rain forced a dramatic second day of the ODI.
The Black Caps scraped from 211-5 in 46.1 overs to 239 and, in one of New Zealand's great sporting upsets, bundled India out for 221 with Matt Henry's 3-37 doing the damage.
Maybe it's time to purge my childhood frustrations of the Black Caps underperforming, and start believing in a team that's captured the World Test Championship and lost two short format finals (it still grates to refer to the twice drawn ODI final as a loss thanks to the absurd boundary countback rule).
Betting tip
Record: 0/2 (-$20)
Grim start, it must be said. Two failed tips so the pressure is on. This week we're going for a head over heart suggestion; the Blues to start their campaign on a winning note with the 1-12 margin at $2.50 against the Hurricanes. The Tab has the safety net of the bonus back option if the Blues win by 13+ - an unlikely prospect given the Hurricanes have the advantage of last week's loss to the Crusaders. The Blues, meanwhile, come in cold after their postponed opening game against Moana.
Blues' new signing Roger Tuivasa-Scheck in action during a preseason clash against the Hurricanes. Photo / Photosport
Question
The women's cricket World Cup starts in two weeks, right in the heart of the Omicron peak when every man and his dog is going to be sick. How much of a shambles is that going to be? And could we possibly see the virus lead to a big underdog victory? Ben, Palmerston North
The timing could not be worse but that tournament stands a better chance than rugby because at least teams will remain in bubbles from the moment they land in New Zealand. Such restrictions, and the absence of crowds, lessens the risk but organisers will be extremely nervous. The men's Twenty20 World Cup in Dubai – held under similar ICC guidelines - largely went off without a hitch. No matter what happens Covid wise it's hard to go past Australia as overwhelming favourites.
