Sunday's Super Rugby Aotearoa finale between the Blues and Crusaders has been cancelled, with the Government confirming Auckland will remain at COVID-19 Alert Level 3 for another 12 days.
NZ Rugby and the Blues confirmed the game's fate soon after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's announcement on Friday evening.
While the game was a dead rubber, after the Crusaders wrapped up the title last week, Eden Park would have been packed to watch the competition's two top sides, with more than 43,000 tickets already sold.
But a fresh spread of coronavirus around the upper North Island has forced Prime Minister Jacinda Adern and her cabinet to maintain the current Auckland lockdown for a full two weeks.
The Blues have confirmed the match could have gone ahead, if Auckland dropped to Levels 1 or 2. They have promised further information to ticketholders soon.
With most of the country still under Alert Level 2, NZ Rugby has also confirmed Saturday's Highlanders v Hurricanes game will proceed without fans at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium, but with an earlier kick-off time of 3pm.
The amended time will allow the Hurricanes to fly in and out of Dunedin on the same day.
"It's fantastic that the Highlanders-Hurricanes game can go ahead as one final celebration of Super Rugby Aotearoa," says NZ Rugby professional rugby & performance general manager Chris Lendrum.
"On the flipside, we've obviously disappointed that the Blues-Crusaders match is off, but we all understand and support the Government's decision around this. Both teams have played outstanding rugby throughout the competition in front of packed crowds."
Eden Park has been turned into Auckland's latest COVID testing station, relocated from Eden Terrace, after long drive-through queues stretched more than a kilometre and people were turned away.
On Friday, Mayor Phil Goff told Stuff he wanted the game postponed.
"I'd be extraordinarily surprised if they wanted a rugby game with 43,000 people to go ahead," Goff said.
"That wouldn't be wise, in my opinion, they should defer that."
Blues chief executive Andrew Hore is philosophical about the news.
"Ten weeks ago, we never thought we'd even have a competition, let alone one with fans," he says. "But instead we got nine weeks of incredible rugby, with three amazing home games and massive crowds.
"While this news is disappointing, we need to take a step back and be grateful for what we got, what it meant to our players, our sponsors and, most importantly, to our fans."
With the coronavirus restrictions due to end on August 26, NZ Rugby will liaise with the Government over where that leaves future events, including the North v South at Eden Park three days later.
The Farah Palmer Cup women's provincial competition is due to start next weekend and the Mitre 10 Cup men kick-off is scheduled for September 11.
All community rugby in Auckland has been put on hold until further notice, but still possible at Alert Level 2 throughout the rest of the country.
Join us at 3pm Saturday for live updates of the Highlanders v Hurricanes Super Rugby Aotearoa clash
