UK and Ireland travel restrictions on SA necessitate big changes to Rainbow Cup

21 April 2021 - 12:01 By Liam Del Carme and liam del carme
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The changes means a “southern” tournament‚ called the Rainbow Cup SA‚ will feature the Sharks‚ the Stormers‚ the Lions and the Bulls taking on each other over a double round of home and away action over seven weeks.
The changes means a “southern” tournament‚ called the Rainbow Cup SA‚ will feature the Sharks‚ the Stormers‚ the Lions and the Bulls taking on each other over a double round of home and away action over seven weeks.
Image: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images

Continued travel restrictions have necessitated a significant change of plan in the Rainbow Cup.

PRO14 Rugby and SA Rugby will now operate dual Rainbow Cup tournaments with no cross-hemisphere fixtures.

In the absence of formal approvals to allow the South African teams to enter the United Kingdom and Ireland organisers were left with little alternative to make the changes before the competition kicks off on Friday.

SA Rugby said in a statement various options for the South African teams to travel to Europe and be based in the UK were explored but could not be put into practice due to the heightened restrictions caused by South Africa’s designation as a “red list” territory in terms of Covid-19 risk.

In its place a “southern” tournament‚ called the Rainbow Cup SA‚ will feature the Sharks‚ the Stormers‚ the Lions and the Bulls taking on each other over a double round of home and away action over seven weeks.

A new fixture list will be announced shortly.

That will come as a huge disappointment for local fans who have seen the same teams compete against each other in Super Rugby Unlocked‚ the Currie Cup and partly in the preparation series.

The “northern” PRO14 Rainbow Cup will still take place on the dates previously published with the fixtures involving the South African teams removed from the schedule and opponents receiving a bye week during either of Rounds 4‚ 5 or 6.

This decision has no impact on the long-term partnership between PRO14 Rugby and SA Rugby and more details about those plans and league structure for the 2021-22 season onwards will be made public shortly.

“This is a huge disappointment‚ but time had simply run out‚” said Jurie Roux‚ chief executive of SA Rugby.

“No stone was left unturned to try and find a solution to the challenges – including basing our teams for 10 days in locations in the Middle East or Europe. But the pieces of the jigsaw would not fall into place in time to allow us to put those plans into action.”

A wide stakeholder group‚ led by a working group between the tournament team at PRO14 Rugby and SA Rugby‚ produced a long list of various options for entry of the teams‚ base camps and high-standard medical protocols across the past four months to cater for different scenarios.

In total‚ 12 venues across the UK‚ Ireland and Europe were considered as base camps for the South African teams to operate out of or to use as a quarantine destination before entering the UK and Ireland.

SA Rugby also explored another four locations separate to this. Further‚ destinations in the Middle East were also explored as potential hosts for fixtures involving South African teams.

This process produced project plans for each venue to include suitable training and accommodation facilities and charter travel schedules under the constant guidance of a medical management committee‚ consisting of the PRO14 medical consultant‚ tournament staff and union chief medical officers.


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