COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on the Super Rugby Pacific schedule, with the Blues' clash against the Crusaders on Saturday the latest fixture to have been thrown in doubt.
After a handful of players were scratched late for their match against the Highlanders last weekend, the Blues have announced the virus is "further impacting" their squad, placing a question mark over their date against their southern rivals at Christchurch.
Meanwhile, the Highlanders have dealt another blow to the chances of their match with Moana Pasifika on Friday proceeding by cancelling Tuesday's training and media session.
Both the Highlanders and Blues say they're working through the situation with NZ Rugby and hope to provide more clarity on their respective situations on Wednesday.
Moana Pasifika have already had three of their first four fixtures postponed, and a fourth could add even more strain to their crammed schedule, which already includes midweek games against the Blues and the Chiefs, with just four-day turnarounds after each until their next game.
Their postponed match against the Hurricanes still hasn't been accounted for, with a new date yet to be set.
"It's challenging," says former Moana Pasifika first-five Christian Lealiifano. "Challenging for a lot of teams and people, but the focus for us is trying to prepare as if we are playing every week."
This weekend's slate has been adjusted to allow the Hurricanes more time to recover from their outbreak, with their game against the Chiefs shifted to Sunday, swapping the Crusaders' match against the Blues to Saturday.
