The PRO 14 wraps up their 2019-2020 regular season this weekend with the top four teams going into the semis next weekend.
It was a great initiative that caught the eye of World Rugby. They published the article on their French website, we made a modest effort to translate it to English (article appended below).
ViaSport, the provincial authority on Return to Sport protocol, announced the “Progressively Loosen” stage will start August 24th. “As of August 24, sport activities should adhere to the Progressively Loosen stage of the Sport Activity Chart.”
With Super Rugby Aotearoa over, we’re now going to switch our attention to the four week conclusion of PRO 14 which starts this weekend.
Pacific Pride
I touched base with Jamie Cudmore over the phone to find out what’s happening there. They’re doing as much as they can while conforming to provincial health regulations. That means they’re focused on fitness and skills work in small groups, both inside in the gym and outside on the field.
The Crusaders v Blues match was cancelled due to COVID and each team were awarded 2 points. With the Hurricanes loss to the Highlanders it didn’t effect the standings with the Blues finishing second and the Hurricanes third.
World Rugby will select the next four World Cups (2 for men, 2 for women) in the same process. The World Rugby article below gives more details but basically the process starts Feb 2021 with a dialogue phase. The formal phase starts May 2021 with submissions expected by January 2022. Evaluation by World Rugby starts February 2022 and a vote takes place in May 2022.
There hasn’t been a lot of local rugby news and we’ve been focusing lately on where rugby is actually being played, in Super Rugby Aotearoa, NZ. But it’s time to catch up on some local news and what’s happening outside of NZ.
The Crusaders have wrapped up the title with one week left. The Blues v Crusaders match next weekend will end the season with a grudge match that neither side will want to lose.
There’s a new rugby program on Vancouver Island that looks to “build community through rugby and help build resilience in youth”. It’s called BC Grassroots Rugby Foundation and is spearheaded by former Canada player Clay Panga. Part of their inspiration is the TIRF (Toronto Inner City Rugby Foundation), their motto is “Building Community Through Rugby and Rugby Through Community”.