South African teams will not be allowed to enter the UK

There are no official approvals to allow South African teams to enter the UK and Ireland For their Rainbow Cup matches, Guinness PRO14, PRO14 Rugby and SA Rugby will run double turns No meetings between the two hemispheres.

Despite the tremendous effort, The South African teams did not get permission to travel in time to allow this That the Rainbow Cup and Guinness PRO14 were played as originally planned These challenges are not unique to rugby, as many international sports have found the Covid-19 pandemic a scenario difficult to plan for.

All options for South African teams to travel to Europe safely have been explored and exhausted by the league, due to the increasing restrictions caused by the presence of South Africa on the Red List of the regions in question.

Double tournaments

The Rainbow Cup Iris Guinness PRO14 event will continue on previously published dates as teams from all over Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales aim to win the throne of the eight-time Leinster Rugby title winner. Rounds 4, 5 and 6 have already been scheduled and submitted to clubs, but South African teams will now be removed and kick-off times may change prior to deployment.

The “Southern” tournament will be called Rainbow Cup SA It will include Better than rugby club South Africa should submit; Cell Sea Sharks, DHL Stormers, Emirates Lions and Vodacom Bulls, Who prepares World Cup winner Springboks for the arrival of British and Irish lions. These games will be available in the UK and Ireland with existing PRO14 Rugby TV partners and full details of this competition will be confirmed by SA Rugby shortly.

All roads are closed

A wide range of stakeholders, led by a working group between the PRO14 Rugby Championship Team and SA Rugby, has produced a long list of different options for entry into teams, base camps and high-level medical protocols in recent years. Attend various scenarios.

In total, 12 locations in the UK, Ireland and Europe have been considered as base camps for South African teams to work or be used as a destination for quarantine before entering the UK and Ireland. SA Rugby has also explored four other separate sites for this. Additionally, destinations in the Middle East have been explored as a potential host for matches involving South African teams.

This process produced project plans for each venue to include adequate training, accommodation facilities and chartered travel schedules under the constant guidance of the Medical Administration Committee, which consisted of the PRO14 Medical Advisor, Tournament Staff, and Federation Medical Directors. This group tracked the Covid-19 situation in various regions and provided advice to governments on the Strategic Approach at all times.

During the process, the PRO14 Rugby has enjoyed strong support from governments and health authorities in all jurisdictions.

It does not affect the long-term partnership

This decision will have no impact on the long-term partnership between PRO14 Rugby and SA Rugby and more details on those plans and league structure for the innovative 2021/22 season onwards will be announced soon.

Martin Annay, CEO of PRO14 Rugby said: “An amazing number of work has been put forward in presenting a number of proposals and options to accommodate this, all while facing the challenges of the second and third waves of Covid-19, as well as the South African alternative that has continuously changed the landscape that We have been working on it.

“Among our unions, our employees and SA Rugby, there is nothing more than we could ask in terms of designing medically sound plans, yet no perfect solution was found in time to allow the South African teams to enter our territory.

“While the outcome is distinctly different from what we were aiming for, our relationship and partnership with SA Rugby has been greatly strengthened through this experience. We look forward to the two Rainbow Cups and we will share our intentions regarding our future partnership in time, which will be fed by the experiences and project planning involved up to Now ahead of the 2021/22 season.

Jory Rugby, CEO of SA Rugby, “It’s a huge disappointment,” he said, “but time is running out.”

“We left no effort in trying to find a solution to the challenges, including establishing our teams for 10 days in locations in the Middle East or Europe. But pieces of the puzzle would not fit in time to allow us to put those plans into action.”

The full match schedule for Rainbow Cup Iris Guinness PRO14 will be released soon, including kick-off times and broadcast information.