Covid-19 has buried its evil tentacles in all three camps, forcing New Zealand Rugby (NZR) to rejig the Super Rugby Pacific schedule ... again.
The original round 5 schedule would have seen the Highlanders host Moana Pasifika in Dunedin, the Blues play the Crusaders in Christchurch and the Hurricanes play the Chiefs in Wellington.
They have all been postponed, but there is some good news for rugby fans.
Moana Pasifika will now play the Chiefs at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday night.
NZR head of tournaments and competitions Cameron Good said several factors influenced the decision to schedule the Moana Pasifika and Chiefs match.
"With three teams remaining, we had to look at what was the best outcome for the competition and a key consideration was to ensure Moana Pasifika got back on the field again after having three matches postponed through the opening month of the season," he said.
"This change also allows Moana Pasifika to catch up on their previously postponed round 2 match against the Chiefs.
"This has been a tough call on the Hurricanes, who had initially been scheduled to play the Chiefs and I would like to acknowledge the Hurricanes for their understanding and co-operation in putting the competition first."
Good said NZR was confident all the postponed games could be rescheduled "without major disruption to the draw" or without putting too much pressure on players as they return to play post contracting Covid-19.
The other match which requires rescheduling is the Hurricanes-Moana Pasifika game from round 4.
"Every player is different. But certainly no-one is stepping back into the environment and being put into full training. They are coming back in, being assessed and are working through a personalised return to play plan."
Teams will be able to call on a pool of replacement players should they have to.
Good welcomed news New Zealand will lift border restrictions to vaccinated Australians from 11.59pm on April 12 and to visa-waiver countries from 11.59pm on May 1.
"[It] allows New Zealand Rugby to plan with more certainty toward teams traveling into New Zealand later in the season, both for DHL Super Rugby Pacific and for our international schedules."
Highlanders CEO Roger Clark said the franchise was philosophical about the postponement.
"Clearly there is disappointment that our game for this week has been postponed, but if we can get through this season with just one game rescheduled we’ll be doing OK," Clark said.
"There are a number of teams now that are affected, so hopefully we can move past this and get to a place where we have less disruption for the competition."
The Highlanders’ next match is against the Blues in Dunedin on March 26.
