ILLAWARRA Rugby Union, which features Shoalhaven Rugby Club, looks set to get the jump on their sporting rivals, with the organisation affirming their commitment to a June 27 return on Wednesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
With the coronavirus curve continuing to flatten, sporting bodies across Australia and the South Coast are turning their focus to what a resumption will look like.
NSW Rugby League last week committed to a plan for community rugby to restart on July 18, with AFL South Coast also eyeing a mid-July return.
Football South Coast remain non-committal, however chief executive Ann-Marie Balliana expressed her growing optimism in an interview with Australian Community Media earlier this week.
The FFA is currently formulating guidelines for the resumption of play across the country.
While those sports adopted a wait-and-see approach, Illawarra Rugby made the early move to cut the season in half and provide teams with some level of certainty.
The new start date is June 27 and in a memo sent to all clubs on Wednesday, Illawarra Rugby president Darin Crofts expressed his growing confidence the season will commence as planned.
Read more: Miller milks lockdown for all it's worth
University coach Dion Miller said the certainty has helped clubs plan for a resumption, but warned there is still much to be resolved throughout the next month.
"It's good to have a plan for the clubs and players," Miller said.
"There's a lot of people that want to get back on the field, it's just at what capacity.
"A lot of sponsorship deals won't be there, so there's a lot to work out for the clubs.
"Player availability could also be an issue.
"We've lost quite a few students and talking to other clubs, a lot of players are unsure whether they can commit to playing and risking injury."
Rugby Australia was the first of the major sport's governing bodies to suspend all community play in March.
That suspension was extended until June 1 earlier this month, a move that came before Raelene Castle's removal as chief executive.
The Illawarra Rugby Union has not heard from the governing body in recent weeks, with feedback from NSW Country Rugby Union leaving the association confident with their plans.
"As you are no doubt aware the state government has started to relax some of the social distancing measures in NSW," Crofts said in the statement.
"We are yet to receive any updates from Rugby Australia in relation to the future of rugby competitions for 2020 but I am becoming more confident that we will be able to get our competition up and running in the latter part of June.
"The IDRU Board is still focused on getting both the junior and senior competitions up and running for 2020 in the months of June and July.
"This will, of course, be subject to any directions from the government and/or Rugby Australia."
Should those directions call for the extension of the suspension of community rugby, Crofts conceded this year's season may have to be abandoned.
"We remain committed to starting the senior competition on Saturday June 27th.
"All things going to plan training should be able to commence in the first week of June.
"The board will firm up the details of the senior competition at the May board meeting.
"A final go/no go decision will be made at the June board meeting on Monday, June 1."
Love local news? Sign up to our weekly newsletter
Cameron Mee
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
