All three Super Rugby Pacific matches due to be played in New Zealand this weekend have been postponed because of Covid-19 outbreaks at three teams, competition organisers said.

Instead, Moana Pasifika and the Chiefs will meet in a match that was originally scheduled for last month but postponed because of infections in the Moana camp, Super Rugby Pacific said on Wednesday.

Coronavirus has thrown the Super Rugby season into disarray since its launch in mid-February as New Zealand experiences a wave of Omicron-variant cases. Six matches have been postponed and five are yet to be rescheduled, raising the prospect of a fixture pile-up later in the season.

New Zealand Rugby head of tournaments Cameron Good said the wellbeing of players from the Hurricanes, Crusaders and Blues had to come first. “We are looking at the schedule and believe there are opportunities to play the postponed matches without major disruption to the draw and will announce details in due course,” he said.

The Super Rugby draw was revamped before the season began to delay travel between Australia and New Zealand for as long as possible to minimise virus-related disruption. This year’s competition has five teams apiece from Australia and New Zealand, along with Auckland-based Moana and fellow newcomers Fijian Drua, based in New South Wales.

© Agence France-Presse