'A huge deal': New Zealand's rugby-starved fans prepare to head en masse to stadiums

It has been a long three months but rugby fans in New Zealand are finally relishing the prospect of the sport’s return this weekend, when the gates are flung open to unrestricted crowds for the first time in the Covid-19 era.

With New Zealand having declared itself coronavirus-free and moved to Alert Level 1, capacity crowds will be allowed into stadiums as Super Rugby Aotearoa gets under way on Saturday.

The new-look competition – featuring New Zealand’s five teams – will become the first major sports league in the world since the pandemic hit to get back up and running with full crowds allowed inside grounds.

The Highlanders play the Chiefs at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Saturday night before the Blues host the Hurricanes at Auckland’s Eden Park on Sunday. They will be the first Super Rugby games played since the spread of Covid-19 forced the abandonment of the 2020 season in mid-March, and led to the creation of the New Zealand-only competition.

“I’ve missed it hugely,” said the Highlanders fan Ben Cooper, who is going to the game in Dunedin with friends. “Everyone in the world, but especially down here, is extremely excited about live sport returning. Just being able to watch sport [on TV] was going to be good but now we can actually go [to the stadium], I don’t think anyone really expected that. Getting to go is the icing on the cake.”

New Zealand’s sport and recreation minister, Grant Robertson, who will also be at the stadium on Saturday, said he is “very excited” as a rugby fan to get competitive play back up and running, but stressed the return of the game would also have benefits outside the sports world.

“One of the things I’ve missed most during this extraordinary period is watching and attending live sport and music,” Robertson said. “It’s a huge deal for Kiwis to be able to both attend sport matches but also watch live on TV.

“It’s exciting not just for rugby fans, but also all the other professional sports like netball. It’s also important for community sport, once it’s up and running, that fans can attend those games too. Also, events generate work opportunities. I understand there are about 500 people working in and around the first game being played in Dunedin.”

While other leagues across the globe remain inactive or are back but behind closed doors, a sense of normality is finally expected.

All Covid-19 restrictions were lifted at midnight on Monday by the New Zealand government, paving the way for a return for community sport as well as at a professional level. Super Rugby kick-off times have been altered – 7.05pm for Saturday games and 3.35pm for Sundays – to allow participants to play for their own clubs before watching the professionals in action.

And at stadiums, with no need for physical distancing, fans will be able to pack tightly into the stands, sit next to friends and family, and celebrate with high-fives. Even sharing a celebratory hug with a fellow fan is permitted.

“The atmosphere is important,” said Nick Williams, a lifelong Blues fan who will be at Eden Park with a group of friends for Sunday’s game. “Everybody’s been cooped up inside for such a long time. It will be a bit surreal being in a stadium with 30,000 other people. It will be a shock to the system.

“I just can’t wait. After almost three months of no live sport it’s going to be a pretty unique atmosphere. I think it’ll be pretty awesome. I’ve missed it so much. It’s been a bit of a struggle these last three months, that’s for sure.”

But not everything will be as it was. Aside from the new competition format – a 10-week home-and-away fixture list – and an absence of international teams, fans will be encouraged to use the QR codes displayed at match venues to enable effective contact tracing – a stark reminder of the reality of a post-pandemic world.

Nevertheless, the Highlanders chief executive, Roger Clark, said the club was “buzzing” and that the weekend’s games would be special occasions. “The world will be watching,” he said. “And we will be ready to put on a show.”

source: theguardian.com