New Zealand Rugby has announced yesterday that for the 2022 season, all players, coaches, referees, and team managers of teenage and adult 15-a-side rugby teams participating in competitions will require a My Vaccine Pass in order to take part.  Under the Covid Protection Framework (traffic light settings) RED setting, any competition run with no vaccine pass has a gathering restriction of only 25 people which makes it impossible for a game of 15-a-side rugby to take place under this restriction. 

While yesterday’s government announcement that all of New Zealand except Northland will move to “orange” setting on December 30, lifting the gathering restriction to 50 people, today’s announcement by New Zealand Rugby provides our communities with some certainty. 

Community Rugby Manager Pat Rae comments, “School Sport New Zealand has already mandated that all of their sanctioned calendar of sports events in 2022 will require participants to be fully vaccinated. This includes the Te Ika A Maui North Island Secondary School Sevens schecduled for 27th and 28th March 2022. On top of this, Sport Bay of Plenty in conjunction with the Secondary Schools Principals Association also announced last week a similar stance for any sports event of the Sport Bay of Plenty calendar as well, which affects our Secondary School Sevens events next year, so this decision by New Zealand Rugby simply provides us, our clubs and schools with some certainty that as long as the traffic light system is in place our 15-a-side competitions aren’t at risk.” 

Rae continues, “The challenge we face next year during these uncertain times is to provide a format of rugby that engages with all of our community, even those who exercise their right to choose not to be vaccinated. The Community Rugby team is on a break right now for the Christmas holidays but when we return we will examine what other formats and offerings can be provided to ensure all our communities can participate in.” 

Article added: Tuesday 14 December 2021