No limit on crowd numbers in Super Rugby Aotearoa

Super Rugby Aotearoa has been given the green light to allow fans to return en-masse to stadiums when the tournament begins on Saturday.

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has confirmed there will be no limit on crowd numbers ahead of the opening game between the Highlanders and Chiefs in Dunedin as well as Sunday’s Blues versus Hurricanes fixture in Auckland.

The news comes after the Government confirmed New Zealand is set to move to Alert Level 1, lifting all restrictions on mass gatherings including at stadiums.

NZR Chief Executive Mark Robinson was clearly delighted with the Government announcement, saying it was a “massive boost” for the competition.

“It is a testament to all New Zealanders that we are in a position to lift restrictions on mass gatherings and it’s a massive boost for Investec Super Rugby Aotearoa,” he said.

“We’re incredibly proud, and grateful, to be the first professional sports competition in the world to be in a position to have our teams play in front of their fans again. It’s going to be a very special and unique competition and it’s fitting that New Zealanders now have a chance to be part of it.”

In a further announcement, from NZR Head of Professional Rugby Chris Lendrum, kick-off times have also been altered for the weekend games, with Saturday now 7.05pm while Sunday is 3.35pm (local time).

“With the return of community sport, we wanted to give our many fans involved in Saturday sport time to finish up their games, get ready to head out, and then across town to our venues. We’re excited to be able to provide some daytime Sunday rugby in 2020,” he said.

“With the change to Level 1 our teams can now prepare normally for matches, rather than asking them to fly in and out on match day.”