The ACT Brumbies are ready to swing into action and host round one if Western Australia’s hardline border stance forces another Super Rugby Pacific fixture overhaul.
Plans for the Brumbies’ season opener are in jeopardy with the club supposed to travel to WA to face the Western Force at Perth Oval on February 19.
Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan has backed down on his promise to reopen the state to the rest of the country on February 5, with no date set on when free travel to WA would resume.
McGowan said opening the WA borders as planned would be “reckless and irresponsible” given the amount of COVID-19 cases in the eastern states.
Brumbies chief executive Phil Thomson says “I can’t see us playing there on the 19th” with officials scrambling to make other arrangements.
One alternative is to swap home games and send the Force on the road until border restrictions are eased, but there are concerns the club could spend a season away from home.
The Brumbies are scheduled to host a return bout against the Force in round six at Canberra Stadium in a Sunday afternoon timeslot on March 27.
“[Competition bosses] have got to consult with the broadcasters and see where it fits into the schedule, and they’ve got to give us time to get things in place for a busy start to the season,” Thomson said.
“If it did swap, it gives us three home games in three weeks. If we did have to swap, then it means we lose one of those Sunday afternoon games which we were really looking forward to as a real family-friendly opportunity. You never know, we might be able to do that on a Sunday anyway in round one.
“I know there’s talks happening and we’re looking at all the options with WA. [McGowan] been pretty straightforward with his [decision] today that the borders aren’t opening like everyone thought they were on February 5.
Brumbies chief Phil Thomson is ready to swing into action. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong
“I can’t see us playing there on the 19th when we were due to play there. It definitely will impact round one. At this stage Rugby Australia and SANZAAR are working through the options, and I’m sure they’ll come to us in the next day or so.”
The Super Rugby Pacific fixture has already been revamped in response to New Zealand border restrictions, delaying trans-Tasman matches until round 10.
The opening nine rounds will consist of derbies. Australian teams will play their domestic rivals as well as the Australian-based Fijian Drua, while the six New Zealand-based teams will be restricted to Aotearoa.
All 12 teams will then converge on Melbourne on ANZAC weekend, with Australian teams then free to travel to New Zealand for the remainder of the season.
But the Force may be required to spend the bulk of their campaign on the road unless McGowan eases his stance on the state border.
Round one could be shifted to Canberra Stadium. Photo: Sitthixay Ditthavong
The Force are supposed to host the Brumbies, Queensland Reds and NSW Waratahs throughout the opening five rounds.
“We’d be the first game back over there on the weekend of March 25-26-27 if they did swap [home fixtures] around, but I don’t know whether much is going to happen between February 18 and March 27,” Thomson said.
“People are talking longer than that [with borders opening to WA]. That takes us to round six in swapping games but then we might encounter the same issue.
“I suppose if you did that as a holding pattern, we get through to round six and if we can’t get back into Perth, you’d look at them potentially staying on the east coast.
“It’s not ideal for them, I think they were happy with the draw they had and they’d had good corporate sales and ticket sales, but [McGowan] has done a complete backflip on what he had indicated to everyone.”
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