WA border restrictions send rugby officials scrambling for Bledisloe clarity

SANZAAR and Rugby Australia’s scheduling headache has worsened with the possibility the All Blacks might not be allowed into Western Australia for next Saturday’s third Bledisloe Test due to new border restrictions.

New Zealand have already wrapped up a series victory with two comfortable wins but doubt hovers over the third match, which is set to take place at Optus Stadium on August 28.

Beauden Barrett gets his hands on the Bledisoe Cup.Credit:Getty

The All Blacks had planned to depart Auckland this Sunday but with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announcing a snap lockdown following positive COVID-19 cases, the team’s movements are now unclear.

WA Premier Mark McGowan could not say with certainty on Wednesday whether the match would go ahead after announcing a “low risk” measure. It means New Zealanders arriving in Perth would have to quarantine for two weeks.

Exemptions for the All Blacks may be possible but RA and SANZAAR are yet to determine whether that can occur.

“Maybe we have to work out some arrangement, or there may be a bubble, or they just have to comply with the rules that exist for everybody else,” McGowan said.

“It’s a moving situation and it would be disappointing for rugby fans if we are forced to cancel the game but that is the nature of the world we live in.”

WA Premier Mark McGowan.

The Wallabies are already in Perth, with players posting photos on Tuesday from nearby Rottnest Island during a lighter training week following their 57-22 loss on Saturday at Eden Park.

There is anxiety among All Blacks players. They face the prospect of leaving family members, who will potentially still be in lockdown, to finish the Rugby Championship before a spring tour of Europe. Players could be away from home for more than three months.

There is a chance the All Blacks could push back their departure date until next week but it depends on exemptions.

Plans were in motion for the four remaining rounds of the Rugby Championship, from September 11 to October 2, to be played in Perth, but that is in the air given McGowan said it wasn’t a priority.

RA chairman Hamish McLennan said on Stan Sports’ Rugby Heaven program this week Queensland could host Rugby Championship matches.

The Wallabies are supposed to play South Africa on September 18 at Suncorp Stadium. Games against Argentina in Newcastle and Canberra might also need to be moved to Queensland.

“We’re having high-level discussions with both state governments with a view that we will try and restrict the travel between all the teams and host it out of a single venue,” McLennan said.

SANZAAR, which ultimately makes decisions on the TRC in consultation with member unions, is yet to announce changes to the schedule.

Perth hasn’t hosted a Test since 2019 when the Wallabies scored a famous 47-26 victory over the All Blacks in the lead-up to the World Cup.

“A game of this magnitude, I think there would have to be some flexibility,” Rugby WA boss and former Wallaby Nathan Charles said. “But it’d be hugely disappointing to not see this game go ahead on Saturday week.”

Tom Decent is a journalist with The Sydney Morning Herald

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