A proposed centralised hub for the six NZ-based Super Rugby squads could be a reality in just a matter of days.
Rugby officials have been finalising a radical plan in the face of the Omicron variant which has the potential to wreak havoc on the new Super Rugby Pacific competition.
"We get infections and we really run the risk of having to shut the programme down," Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge tells Newshub. "So we're really seriously planning this option.
A brush with COVID-19 has the potential to sideline an entire team, with Government rules mandating close contacts must isolate for 10 days.
With Omicron quickly spreading, that scenario is becoming more likely by the day.
"They double again tomorrow and you know we're in territory where there's going to be infection all over the place, so we will have to move quickly," Mansbridge adds.
At this stage the proposed plan would see teams move to Queenstown.
"The teams would be enormously welcome here," says Queenstown-Lakes mayor Jim Boult.
NZ Rugby put plans in place for Queenstown to operate as a rugby bubble for the 2020 Rugby Championship, meaning the blueprint is there for the Super Rugby sides.
"We have plenty of rugby grounds, plenty of gyms, plenty of facilities," says Boult. "Obviously heaps of accomodation."
But the fears the bubble could put a mental strain on players being away from family are real, particularly for those players and coaches who have not long been freed from bubble life overseas.
That includes the All Blacks contingent, who completed their isolation requirements in December, after their three-month extended tour to Europe.
"For people who have been through long periods of isolation this is going to be tough," says Mansbridge. "We understand how difficult it's going to be for them and their families."
The centralised hub could be gone as early as round four, based on the assumption isolation rules enter phase three, when only household contacts of cases need to quarantine.
Watch the full story above
