Rugby League World Cup 2021 set to be postponed until 2022 following withdrawals
Organisers were given only four minutes' notice that the antipodean neighbours intended to pull out on 22 July, with Rugby Football League chairman Simon Johnson calling it a "selfish, parochial and cowardly decision".
The number of those who would be affected is significantly higher when the women's and wheelchair events are taken in consideration.The postponement would be a major blow to English rugby league, a sport that has been hit hard by the financial fallout of the pandemic.Australia, as 11-time and defending men's champions, were favourites to win the tournament in England, while 2008 winners New Zealand were again poised to be contenders.
The postponement seemed inevitable once they decided, through the voice piece of the Australian Rugby League Commission, that they didn't want to allow their players to compete in a World Cup in England this year.The risk of players being exposed to the virus in this country is a valid concern, despite the RLWC2021 organisers bending over backwards to ensure that protocols would have been in place to keep the tournament as safe as possible.
With the number of Covid cases in Australia not yet reaching the numbers seen in other countries, and with their vaccine roll out programme a long way behind schedule, it's hard to gauge how badly the pandemic will hit that country in 2022. And indeed, whether a dramatic spike in cases over the next few months will again lessen their appetite to send players abroad.Stadiums will have to be rebooked.
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