EbeneInfo – IN – RUGBY/ Start of Japan’s Top League delayed due to COVID-19 outbreaks : The Asahi Shimbunen

Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information

A whistle to be used in the Rugby World Cup opening match between Japan and Russia at Tokyo Stadium on Sept 20 (Shiro Nishihata)

The start of Japan’s Top League rugby union competition has been delayed due to COVID-19 outbreaks at several clubs, the league and Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) said on Thursday

The competition had been due to start this weekend but with 10 positive tests at Kobe Steelers on Thursday taking the total to 67 league-wide, organizers said they were now aiming for a mid-February start

“Japan Rugby Football Union and Top League have had discussions and we want to do everything we can to have this year’s Top League season,” said JRFU Chairman Kensuke Iwabuchi

Organizers said they were yet to finalize a new start date and whether the format needed to be changed because of time restrictions and safety precautions

Top League chief Osamu Ota hoped the season would finish by the scheduled end date of May 23 so that it would not interfere with the national team’s plans

Kobe are the sixth team to report positive COVID-19 results along with NEC Green Rockets, Toyota Verblitz, Suntory Sungoliath, Canon Eagles and Toshiba Brave Lupus

They said in a statement on their website that all team members, including those who had tested negative, had been told to stay home since Tuesday, when the positive test results were confirmed

Matches involving Toyota, Suntory and Canon scheduled for this weekend had already been cancelled but the entire slate of first round games have now been wiped

The JRFU said last week games would be played in front of thousands of fans who had already purchased tickets, despite government guidelines limiting the number of people allowed to attend sporting events

A host of top international players, including Beauden Barrett, Michael Hooper and Kieran Read, are set to play in this season’s Top League, the final campaign before it is overhauled next year

Historians describe the Nomonhan Incident, a little-known 1939 Japan-Soviet border conflict, as the starting point of World War II

The Asahi Shimbun aims “to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” through its Gender Equality Declaration

Let’s explore the Japanese capital from the viewpoint of wheelchair users and people with disabilities with Barry Joshua Grisdale

Copyright © The Asahi Shimbun Company All rights reserved No reproduction or republication without written permission

Japan Top League, Coronavirus, Japan Rugby Football Union, Japan