Super Rugby Aotearoa is set for a huge boost with news that New Zealand will soon move to COVID-19 alert level 1.
The Government will decide next Monday, June 8, if the time is right for New Zealand to shift to alert level 1, which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said would essentially remove all current restrictions regarding social distance.
That includes the current 100-person limit on mass gatherings, which means all games in the revised Super Rugby Aotearoa competition will likely be able to be played in front of crowds in the stands.
"At level 1 all current rules on businesses and services are essentially lifted," Ardern said. "Sports and concert stadiums can be sold out."
PM Ardern said the Government is working with the five home stadiums to create a "COVID code" to ensure contact tracing is in place.
"All gatherings of any size can occur. However, we are working with ticketing agencies and large scale event organisers on a COVID code, whereby contact details are collected so that we can keep a track of people at large gatherings in the event that we need to follow them up for contact tracing.
"For those larger events it is a matter of preparedness for us. We may be confident that we're an environment where we do not have COVIDin circulation.
"But if we have a situation where even one case emerges, and it's found that they had been in attendance at a large event, we always have to be prepared to be able to contact trace successfully.
"Which is why we want to work alongside those who put on events, large sporting events, music events, work with ticketing agencies, so that they do have information available for short periods of time to help us with contact tracing."
Ardern also said community sport will be able to start at level 1 without size and distancing restrictions.
The revised 10-round NZ-only competition kicks off June 13, with the Highlanders hosting the Chiefs in Dunedin.
