Marius Louw of the Cell C Sharks during the Cell C Sharks training session at Jonsson Kings Park Stadium.
Steve Haag
- SA rugby franchises can expect clearance for a return to contact training on Wednesday.
- But an actual return to play – mooted to be an eight-team Currie Cup – can only be approved once the sport ministry’s new level two regulations are gazetted.
- It would seem that the federation’s only prominent outstanding issue is how matches will have to be hosted.
Confirmation of local professional rugby’s return to contact training is expected on Wednesday.
Jurie Roux, SA Rugby’s chief, told a media briefing that an announcement is expected imminently but there’s one more hoop to jump through before matches can take place again.
South Africa hasn’t hosted a game since mid-March.
“When the sport ministry’s regulations were gazetted on 6 August, we wrote to government on the 7th. We gave them a return to play date in training, effectively just a return of contact training,” said Roux.
“You’ll see an announcement in the next day or so.”
Franchises such as the Cheetahs have been doing non-contact drills in bigger groups over the past few days.
The plan remains for a Currie Cup to begin in mid-September though government’s announcement of lockdown moving to Level 2 means the federation will have to wait for the raft of new regulations later this week for final protocols to be approved.
“We also gave government a return to play date which has been widely speculated as possibly the first two weekends of (next month). That wouldn’t be inaccurate,” said Roux.
“But we’re still awaiting government’s reply on that. It’s also important to bear in mind that subsequent to that, Level 2 has been announced and that new regulations will be brought out within the next few days that we still have to react to.”
It would seem that SA Rugby’s only prominent outstanding issue is how matches will have to be hosted.
“We are still hopeful of return to play. We’ve got different formats of competition as the dates move. Whether it’s a double or a single round but effectively there’ll be eight teams playing home and away, or in a centralised base or a bio-bubble. That is dependent on the the Level 2 regulations coming out at the end of the week,” said Roux.
