Super Rugby Pacific: Hurricanes v Moana Pasifika match postponed due to Covid-19

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has confirmed that the Super Rugby Pacific Round Four match between the Hurricanes and Moana Pasifika at Sky Stadium in Wellington on Saturday has been postponed due to the effects of Covid-19 on the home team’s player pool.

The postponement was made on the advice of the Super Rugby Pacific medical advisory group that the Hurricanes squad did not have enough players to form a matchday 23.

NZR general manager professional rugby & performance Chris Lendrum said it was disappointing for both teams, but particularly Moana Pasifika who were dealing with their third postponed match of the season.

“Every effort was made to play this match but despite looking at replacement player options the number of players affected by COVID was simply too great to overcome and the right decision has been reached,” he told Super Rugby Pacific‘s official website.

“We are supporting the Hurricanes as much as we can as they deal with a large number of players being unavailable, while it is obviously disappointing for Moana Pasifika who were itching to play again after finally getting their season underway last week.”

Hurricanes CEO Avan Lee said the postponement capped off a tough couple of weeks for the club.

“We were obviously gutted for our women’s (Poua) Super Rugby squad when they had to pull out of their inaugural match and now our men’s team are dealing with their own disappointment, so I guess it shows how widely Covid is affecting people right now,” he commented.

“We are also disappointed for Moana Pasifika who have already had to deal with this situation twice this season. We’d like to thank them for their understanding, and we look forward to meeting them later in the season.”

Moana Pasifika CEO Pelenato