Moana Pasifika's Super Rugby Pacific debut has been postponed again, this time due to concerns over player welfare.
The news comes after Moana Pasifika's opening match - against the Blues - was postponed due to an outbreak of COVID-19 in the team's camp based in Queenstown.
And after a meeting of Super Rugby Pacific's medical advisory group deemed there was not sufficient time to allow Moana Pasifika to return to training before this week's fixture, Friday's match against the Chiefs has also been postponed.
The team had already been given a midweek deadline for players to prove their fitness in time for Friday's match.
"Everyone wants to see Moana Pasifika out on the field, and we explored every possibility to make that happen this weekend including pushing the Chiefs match out two days to Sunday," NZ Rugby head of tournaments and competitions Cameron Good says.
"However, we were not willing to compromise player safety and wellbeing, so in the end this was an easy decision.
"We remain committed to re-scheduling both of the postponed matches involving Moana Pasifika."
Chiefs chief executive Michael Collins adds that while the decision is disappointing, it's the fairest thing to do in terms of allowing Moana Pasifika a chance to recover from their bout with COVID.
The rescheduling also means that the match will now likely take place in Hamilton, rather than in Super Rugby Pacific's Queenstown and Dunedin bubble.
"We explored every possibility to try and get this match played including moving it to Sunday," he says.
"Ultimately none of the alternatives that we investigated did not potentially compromise the health and wellbeing of Moana Pasifika players, so in the end it was a straightforward decision.
"We look forward to confirming a new date for this fixture in the near future. It's great news that we will host this match at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton."
Meanwhile, Good adds there is no update on the original intended plan of playing the opening three rounds of Super Rugby Pacific in the Queenstown bubble, but some teams will return home as early as this weekend.
"We always said that the longest the teams would stay in Queenstown was through until the completion of round three, but we would continue to review the situation," he says.
"With the Government having moved to Phase 2 of the Omicron response it is now likely that some teams will return home after their round two matches this weekend, but we are still working with the Clubs to confirm this."
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