SA Rugby president Mark Alexander has announced that all rugby in the country will be suspended until the end of April following government’s Covid-19 policies.

The Minister for Sports, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, briefed national sports federations on the government’s plans on Tuesday and called on sports bodies to support the campaign.

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Following the briefing, SA Rugby issued a statement on Wednesday to confirm that no rugby will be taking place in South Africa until at least the end of April.

‘We wholeheartedly and without hesitation are completely aligned to the government’s aggressive approach to attempting to curb this pandemic,’ Alexander said.

‘All rugby has been suspended until the end of April and we have changed our business practices to support the need for “social distancing”.

‘I call on the entire rugby fraternity to play their part in support of the government in curbing this pandemic. The Springboks showed last year that we as a nation are stronger when we are together and now is the time for all of us to act.

‘We will continue to support government initiatives and directives and follow the advice of the Department of Health and other advisory bodies to beat back the disease.’

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SA Rugby has followed government advice by cancelling all internal travel, unless business critical, and all international travel – under any circumstances – until further notice.

 The organisation’s office remains open although an optional work-from-home policy has been introduced during the national emergency to allow for social distancing and self-isolation among other protocols.

‘All face-to-face committee meetings have either been postponed or turned into online meetings and we continue to review forthcoming competitions,’ Alexander added.

‘These are unprecedented times and require unprecedented responses as well as the support, understanding and whole-hearted engagement of all engaged in sport.’

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