The New Zealand government’s plan to reopen its borders will make international travel easier on Kiwi athletes, but they still face a lengthy wait before being able to play in front of home fans.
The pandemic has hit NZ sport hard, with touring sides having to undergo quarantine or forced to abandon trips to the country.
New Zealand teams like the NRL’s Warriors and Wellington Phoenix in the A-Leagues have had to relocate across the Tasman to secure their places in the competitions.
Additionally, national teams and international athletes have had to put trips abroad on the backburner when unable to secure places in quarantine.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealed a five-step plan to phase out New Zealand’s tough border laws introduced to fight COVID-19.
The ability of Kiwis to travel abroad and self-isolate on return will now be easier.
But one crucial element was missing from Thursday’s announcement – the date when self-isolation on arrival will be abandoned and the stop-gap measure it will adopt for international arrivals.
That cruels the ability of sides like the Warriors, Phoenix and NBL’s Breakers being a part of home-and-away competitions, as travelling teams cannot afford to spend long stretches in isolation.
Sport Minister Grant Robertson said visiting sports teams could at least avoid quarantine from April 13.
“Those people will be able to self-isolate from that point,” he said.
“There are no exemptions from having to go through (self-isolation) but there has been training exemptions and protocols … that process will carry on.”
The border rules are likely to endanger the Australian men’s three-match T20 tour, set for March, as it’s unlikely the side will self-isolate for a week to play three white-ball matches.
It won’t impact New Zealand’s hosting of the Women’s Cricket World Cup next month, with all participants receiving quarantine places ahead of the tournament.
Super Rugby is again running a split season, with separate Australian and NZ conferences.
The crossover trans-Tasman matches are contingent on the relaxed self-isolation requirement, which the government says will be “reviewed constantly”.
This week, New Zealand Rugby announced all of NZ’s sides would relocate to Queenstown in an effort to avoid a virus-impacted season which will start in two weeks.
New Zealand’s current COVID-19 “red” setting also bans crowds of more than 100, meaning fixtures are played almost behind closed doors.
