The Brumbies are open to a Super Rugby draw shuffle that would see them complete Australian conference matches while international travel bans impact the competition through the coronavirus crisis.
The Super Rugby competition is on hold indefinitely following the Brumbies’ 47-14 win over the Waratahs on Sunday which completed round seven.
That win sent them 10 points clear of the Rebels and Reds, who are their nearest rivals in the Australian conference, while they are just one point behind South Africa’s Sharks in the overall standings.
With just one loss for the season the Brumbies are hopeful the competition will be back up and running in whatever format.
“You’re hopeful aren’t you, that you can turn on the TV and watch Super Rugby or come to games,” said Brumbies coach Dan McKellar.
“There’s obviously health concerns and the experts will look after that, there’s obviously people out there who are incredibly sick so you’ve got to remember that as well.
“It’s challenging times for everyone.”
McKellar said their preference was to play other Australian teams while international travel was on hold.
He said they would hold a meeting on Tuesday where they hoped to learn more information from SANZAAR about plans for the competition.
“Yes, we just want to play footy,” McKellar said.
“We were supposed to be going to Auckland and that’s not happening and then we’ve got the Reds, Melbourne, and we play the Tahs again.
“If we can get the conference games; it’s a conference system so play your conference games and then see where things are at and then hopefully we can have a genuine finals series and the best play the best.”
McKellar said they would also consider playing their interstate rivals in practice matches while the competition was on ice to ensure they could hit the ground running when it resumed.
Having already dealt with a mumps outbreak in the Brumbies camp this season, they are better prepared than most sporting teams to deal with the impact of an infectious disease.
“Our hands are cleaner than surgeons after the mumps,” McKellar said.
“Hygiene is something that we’ve been talking about for a long time now.”
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
But can we be certain broadcasters would agree to those terms?
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
Peter, I would be somewhat surprised if the contract was not written in such a way that ensured revenue to national governing bodies in the event of matches being cancelled for reasons outside of their control. They need to be sure of revenue for cash flow reasons. You could well be right, but I would be somewhat surprised.
Tooly
Roar Rookie
The tax payers are all taking a hell of a thrashing. Everyone is losing money. Sport will have to deal with it.
gatesy
Roar Guru
By my reckoning:- Brums have 4 local derbies left; Rebels have five; Tahs have six; Reds have six; Sunwolves have five. Maybe a plan for the next 4 weeks could be worked out (by a better mathematician than me)
PeterK
Roar Guru
Money may talk. I doubt the broadcasters will keep paying for a product they no longer get. The government has not stopped them playing matches against each other in australia. Domestic flights are allowed. So will RA keep paying the players , go broke and fold , and its only hope is for government or private assistance to keep afloat. If the government prohibits domestic matches it could deserve recompense.
Bleedsgreenand gold
Roar Rookie
In the interest of the greater good and the safety of everyone, it is right that the competition should be suspended and I for one applaud their decisiveness in this. But, c’mon, how good would it be to see an inform and awesome Reds take on the sublime Brumbies!!!!
The Neutral View From Sweden
Roar Guru
I think there is about a 0,001 percent chance that the SR season will resume play in the next couple of months. The big way to stop spreading the virus is to stop almost all social contacts. Washing hands is very important, but it is no golden bullet.