“We are committed to the success of rugby in the Hunter and we encourage our clubs and players to keep doing what they do best – keeping players fit, healthy and safe and staying connected with our community.”

“There is only one thing we can say with certainty for the 2020 Newcastle and Hunter Rugby season and that is it will be a season like no other. While restrictions are changing every day, the uncertainty means the Newcastle and Hunter rugby premiership season won’t be going ahead.”

“What we are doing is working with clubs to make sure there are opportunities to engage in rugby in Newcastle and the Hunter.”

“We want to see what the opportunities are for rugby in 2020 and we are investigating some great ideas like training drills for schools, virtual competitions and even a sprint season (the COVID Cup has been bandied around!)”

“In addition, unlike the national sporting codes, we are heavily on reliant on our game days to support and fund our clubs. Without our game day revenue, it is difficult to see how we would be able to meet the increased cleaning and hygiene requirements due to COVID-19.”

We know our rugby community wants to pull on jerseys and cheer on their local clubs and we hope to have some great alternatives to do just that in the coming weeks.