Sharks vs Stormers game cancelled due to Covid-19 outbreak

The Super Rugby Unlocked game between the Sharks and the Stormers that was scheduled to take place on Saturday has been cancelled due to a Covid-19 outbreak at the Durban side.

The outbreak has arisen after positive Covid-19 tests among the Sharks tight-head props‚ something that hasn’t made SA Rugby chief executive officer Jurie Roux very happy.

While other Super Rugby Unlocked matches have been postponed‚ from where points have been shared‚ the coastal derby was scratched.

Roux said players need to be more cautious in their social engagements as they could have serious consequences for the team and others around them.

“Players and management are urged to employ extreme caution in their social engagement. It only takes one careless interaction by a single player to have the knock-on effect that impacts on 45 other players‚ team managements‚ the schedule and potentially the destination of the title‚” Roux said.

“As fit young athletes it may be tempting to think that they are ‘immune’ to infection and are free of comorbidities that make them vulnerable. But a positive test for one of them can have massive repercussions. I trust that team managements will underline that message on a daily basis to their playing personnel.”

The cancellation of the fixtures means the Bulls‚ who were pencilled in to play the Pumas at Loftus Versfeld on Friday‚ are now Super Rugby Unlocked champions. This game has now been tentatively moved to Saturday with player welfare as the reasons for the declaration‚ with the time still to be confirmed.

The Pumas squad‚ which returned several positive tests last week that led to the postponement of last week Saturday’s game against the Lions‚ will be re-tested on Thursday.

The results will be known on Friday‚ allowing time for a training session after 10 days in isolation before meeting the Bulls on Saturday.