Premiership Rugby resigned to crowd-less fixtures until 2021 with plans tested for behind-closed-doors matches
Innovations being trialled include remote-camera technology as the clubs remain determined to finish this season in its entirety
ByGavin Mairs, CHIEF RUGBY UNION CORRESPONDENT
28 April 2020 • 4:17pm
Premiership Rugby is fast-tracking innovations – including remote-camera technology – and planning the logistics for playing behind closed doors, with a growing acceptance that crowds are unlikely to return until next year.
It is understood that clubs are determined to complete this season’s Premiership campaign in full, even if it means finishing in November. “We want to play every game. If we have to do it behind closed doors, we will do it but only if we get the right testing regimes in place,” said a senior Premiership source.
“Everyone wants to finish the season. The clubs would rather finish it in October and November than write it off. We would then have around a four-week break and find a way of playing a little longer into next year.”
Nine rounds of this season’s league remain, as well as semi-finals and the final, with no formal indication of when action will be allowed to resume.
However, contingency plans to return, possibly as early as late June, are understood to be at an advanced stage, based on the Government relaxing social-distancing measures early next month. There is an agreement that players will require a minimum of four-weeks of contact training before games can resume.
Testing players for Covid-19 will also be key, although clubs want to proceed only if there is no drain on NHS resources. If it is feasible, players would be tested before coming back into training camp and then be quarantined in hotels ahead of a round of matches.
It is likely that each round of six matches will be played at one stadium across a weekend. Three rounds will be played midweek to complete the league the end of August, with full squad rotation to protect player welfare.
“There is a hope that if the Government relaxes social distancing next month, even if it is the end of the May, it means we can bring the players back into impact training in June,” said a Premiership source.
“They will need four weeks of contact training so the screening and testing protocols need to be in place by then. We could look at getting started by the start of July, which means we could finish the season by the end of August.
“It is a dynamic model but the intention is to play every game. The clubs and players want to play every game. No one seems to be interested in awarding points for fixtures, that would be an act of last resort.
“We won’t do anything unless it is safe, we won’t do anything that takes resources away from front-line services. We know where we sit in the hierarchy of important things.
“There is an acceptance that squads will be rotated to ensure that the selection process is appropriate for each player. No one in a club wants to do anything to put any athlete in harm’s way.
“We could have all 12 teams in quarantine and locked down and play six games over one weekend. It is one of a number of quite different ideas.”
The contingency plans could also lead to a revolution in broadcasting, with host broadcaster BT Sport considering fitting out stadiums with up to 15 remotely controlled cameras to remove the need for film crews. With no crowds as a backdrop, it is thought that new camera angles are being considered.
Several stadiums, including Twickenham and the Ricoh Arena, are under consideration as locations, with the key criteria being broadband connectivity and on-site medical facilities.
“One of the things that has been worked on with BT is not having to deploy camera crews,” said a source. “They will rig up the stadium with around 12 to 15 remote control cameras and then run the whole production from their master control room in Stratford. It requires a lot of broadband connectivity. Sometimes crises lead to technology jumps. BT seem keen to make it happen.”
Clubs are considering options to make matches accessible to supporters while retaining social distancing. Leicester are thought to be considering plans to set up a drive-in cinema-style facility for supporters to watch games on a big screen in car parks at Welford Road.
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