The Auckland rugby teams have been benched, as domestic and community rugby games are set to resume around the country.
The Bunnings NPC, Farah Palmer Cup and Heartland Championship will kick off again from Friday next week.
But left on the sidelines are the Auckland, North Harbour and Counties Manukau teams who will have to stay within the Covid-19 level 4 lockdown border zone.
North Harbour Rugby men's coach Daniel Halangahu has told Checkpoint NZ Rugby is talking to the government to try get an exemption for Auckland region rugby teams to play in tournaments outside of the region in level 4 lockdown.
“The government’s got a process they go through. We’re not going to hold our breath at this end.”
He said his players would go if they could get an exemption. He said player welfare is the priority, second to that is actually getting rugby games going again.
