Following yesterday’s announcement that the ACT lockdown would be extended for another 4 weeks, until Friday 15 October 2021, the ACT & SNSW Rugby Union has made the difficult but unavoidable decision to cancel the remainder of the 2021 seasons for all five senior competitions under our jurisdiction.
With the cancellation of the remainder of the season, the 83-year-old John I Dent Cup will not be awarded for the first time since 1944.
While every avenue was explored in attempting to conclude our season, the ongoing uncertainty around when and how community sport could return in both the ACT & NSW, alongside the required transition period of training to competition for contact sport meant that a resumption became unattainable.
With the government’s plan to relax lockdown restrictions once the 80% vaccination milestone is reached, the ACT & SNSW rugby community can look forward to hopefully, a more stable year of rugby in 2022.
Brumbies General Manager Community Rugby and Deputy CEO, Craig Leseberg said: “Under the circumstances we believe this is the most responsible decision for our code and participants.
“This will be a disappointing outcome for the multitude of players, coaches, volunteers, and match officials who have invested an extraordinary amount of time and effort this year. We extend our sincere gratitude to everyone for your dedication and commitment.
“We encourage all within our rugby community to continue to abide by the current public health orders and urge everyone to get vaccinated, so that we have the best opportunity for a successful return of rugby in 2022.”
“The important thing now is for us to stick together as a rugby community and we encourage anyone who needs help at this difficult time to make use of mental health and wellbeing services.
