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Plug pulled on Lions vs Cheetahs match following outbreak

Courtnall Skosan and Elton Jantjies. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

The Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked match between Emirates Lions and Toyota Cheetahs scheduled for Emirates Airlines Park this afternoon has been called off “in line with COVID-19 protocols”.

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It is the latest match cancellation in a string of such events across the rugby world, with England’s match with the Barbarians scrapped after a breach of protocol by players. The conclusion of the Gallagher Premiership in the UK has also seen multiple matches scrapped thanks to the virus.

According to SA Rugby, the decision was taken as part of prescribed precautions advised by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) to limit the risk of further infection in the rugby community.

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Hartley talks THAT red card.

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Hartley talks THAT red card.

The cancellation was triggered on Saturday morning following the receipt of results from a second batch of tests on Emirates Lions senior squad playing and coaching personnel, which revealed two further positive cases. The tests had been prompted by the recording of four other positive tests among the same group earlier in the week.

The players who tested positive and identified close contacts are isolating and quarantining according to Department of Health guidelines. The players are in good health and are being monitored by the team doctor.

If the fixture cannot be-rescheduled, both teams will take two points.

“Containing the spread of the disease is a national imperative and this first impact on the rugby schedule is a stark reminder of how vigilant our community has to be and how rigorous we must be in following the rules,” said Jurie Roux, SA Rugby CEO.

“Safety comes first, and although it is extremely disappointing for all concerned, it is a reminder to our teams and players of the role their actions will play in avoiding the risk of more cancellations.

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“Despite having followed the advisory precautions and the plans that were approved by the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC), we will take this opportunity to review them and strengthen them if required.”

The Vodacom Bulls match with the Cell C Sharks is unaffected and will continue as scheduled at 19h00 at Loftus Versfeld.

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J
JW 26 minutes ago
The raw data that proves Super Rugby Pacific is currently a cut above

Your links are private if you were intending them to be shared.


URC us doing very well with it’s competitiveness given that each group has it’s own salary caps and entirely different makeups, from clubs, to provinces, to franchises and regions. One group might be teams from the most populace country with the biggest rugby base while another the smallest, with the least amount of rugby players to chose from.

On average, just about one SRP game every weekend has been decided in the last five minutes!

I would also be interested in a average clock length (don’t need to go into the whole BIP hole) showing how long the last phases are taking (because one team is trying to still alter the match points outcome in some way) to complete before the game finally ends. I don’t know if its more common this year but in general I wonder if its a stat that can show how good games are/were?

17.7%

You really had the same reversed 10 points lead % as you had lead changes after the 75th?


Some of these values while standing out numerically against each other have a much less correlative impact than some that tighter differences which might only stick out a small amount. While SRP’s ones might not necessarily be such examples (and here I’m still going off the basic principle that everyone knew this was happening, even though I was challenged about that assumption) they have had the advantage of the fixtures being were doctored even more than normal. In this instance its irrelevant whether they were doctored or not of course, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that there hasn’t been a lot of cross over of worst v best yet. Maybe it just feels like that because the worst are so much better this year? I definitely think that it is undeniable that all the bottom teams (that remain) have gotten better.


So I would be very interested in another weight graph of the games still, but regardless I don’t think it’s fair for SRP to claim anything over the other leagues yet. Certainly as I have said numerous times about the Top 14, it’s sub par compared to what it’s billed up to be, but that is the only league in this group that has promotion and relegation, which is the antitheses of a competitive league, so a trade off there.


Thank you very much for sharing your research though Dmitri, I hope you find another topic to get interested about!

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