All Blacks deny asking out of tour

The All Blacks were in damage control after reports surfaced that a number of the country’s top players were contemplating pulling out of participation in the Rugby Championship later this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“It was quite laughable really, it was the first I had heard of it,” All Blacks star Richie Mo’unga told the New Zealand Herald. His name was among the players reported to be considering taking a pass on participation in the Rugby Championship.

The Rugby Championship is slated to be played during yet-to-be-determined dates in November and December in Australia.

With all the tournament test matches slated for Australia, the All Blacks players would be forced into a mandatory 14-day quarantine upon their return to New Zealand. Depending upon the December dates, there’s a realistic possibility that players could still be in quarantine and away from their families over the Christmas holidays.

On top of that, they’d also be separated from their families for a 10-week span while preparing for and participating in the event.

Concern Among New Fathers

According to the report, which was also carried by the website RNZSport, the majority of players expressing their desire to bow out of the Rugby Championship were either new parents or about to become parents of a newborn.

The players on this list included Mo’unga, Beauden Barrett, T.J. Perenara and Sevu Reece.

Mo’unga and his wife recently had their first child. Perenara is also the father of a new baby.

Barrett and Reece will both become fathers for the first time within the next month.

The report added that several other players with young children were also reluctant to head to Australia for such a long spell of time.

Denials Issued Quickly

“Rugby World Cup 2011 Final – The All Blacks perform the haka” by jccchou is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Players and All Blacks coach Ian Foster acted quickly to not only downplay the story but to flat-out deny the veracity of the reporting.

“It’s a tricky one because as players we are made accountable for the things we say and do and it’s quite tricky when speculations come out like that and it can be harmful and sad for family members during these uncertain times,” Mo’unga said.

Foster also moved at a fast pace to dispel the rumors as false.

“I read that report yesterday and it was pretty frustrating that those headlines came out without any facts behind it,” Foster told Newstalk ZB.

Foster indicated that he’d spoken to the players whose names were mentioned in the report and all told him that it wasn’t true. He added that not a single player had asked out of the commitment to play in the Rugby Championship.

“I’ve had no player at all (request to opt out), and I’ve spoken to the players who were noted in the articles,” Foster said. “I’ve spoken to all those players and I haven’t heard anything like what has been reported.

“Right now, people just want to know what the facts are and we’re gathering them up at the moment.”

Discussions Being Held

Foster did admit that due to the uniqueness of the situation created by COVID-19, he’s been in regulation communication with his players to talk about the issues being caused by the pandemic.

“We’re trying to be responsible employers and talk to a whole lot of players,” Foster said. “This is all new to everyone, taking players away for nine weeks where you can’t get back and it’s becoming increasingly obvious it’s going to be hard to bring players over later.

“So it’s a big chunk of time and we’re just working it through with players.”

It must be said that participation from 100 percent of the players is far from definite. And such uncertainty in the eyes of top online betting websites figures to cause an impact on the odds for the tournament.

Mo’unga admitted that the challenges of what lay ahead for the All Blacks as rugby players, husbands and fathers is a fact of life that he has considered.

“It definitely will be tough,” Mo’unga said. “You’d have to be a robot if that wasn’t going to be tough for you and you’re away for that certain amount of time but us footy players, we play rugby and we’ve got to do everything we can to put food on the table for our families as well.

“I’m sure players with newborn babies, soon-to-be-fathers will have conversations and make those decisions in their own time with Ian Foster and the management.”