Japan Rugby Top League 2021 2 Matches in Round 1 Cancelled
January 12th, 2021
The Japan Rugby Top League has today announced its decision to cancel two matches in its 2021 season’s Round 1; Toyota Verblitz v Suntory Sungoliath on Saturday January 16th, 2021 at Toyota Stadium and Ricoh BlackRams v Canon Eagles on Sunday January 17th, 2021 at Komazawa Olympic Park Stadium.
13 coronavirus cases in the Toyota Verblitz, 7 cases in the Suntory Sungoliath and 24 cases in the Canon Eagles have been reported to date and due to the teams’ difficulty in making necessary preparation for playing, Osamu Ota, Chairman of the Japan Rugby Top League, has decided, in discussion with relevant parties, to cancel these matches.
The two matches will not be rescheduled to play and based on Article 39 and 57 of the Japan Rugby Top League Regulations below, two winning points will be awarded to each of the four teams.
Further information on ticket refunds will be announced as soon as details are finalized. We sincerely apologies everyone who were looking forward to the matches for the inconvenience.
The three teams will not attend the pre-season online interviews which are scheduled at 5:00pm on Tuesday January 12th for the Toyota Verblitz and the Canon Eagles and at 1:00pm on Wednesday January 13th for the Suntory Sungoliath. Alternative interview opportunities for tehse teams have not been scheduled at this time.
Other 6 matches in the 2021 season’s Round 1 will be played as scheduled.
- Winning Point
The matches will not be rescheduled to play and based on Article 39 and 57 of the Japan Rugby Top League Regulations below, two winning points will be awarded to each of the four teams (Please see the following extract from the Regulations);
Article 39 Awarding
<TL2021 1st stage>
4. If a match is cancelled pursuant to Article 57, each of the two playing teams shall be awarded two winning points. No points scored and allowed shall be added.
Article 57 Cancellation of Match
In cases of bad weather, natural disaster including earthquake, cancel recommendation from public authorities or suspension of public transport and, if it would be not possible to reschedule an alternative match at a later date, a final decision to cancel a match shall be made by the Chairman of the Japan Rugby Top League. The Match Commissioner shall immediately provide all the information available to the Chairman to help him/her make a proper decision. In case of a COVID-19 or any other pandemic, the Chairman shall make a final decision after thorough discussion between the Chairman, TL, the experts and advisors, the match commissioners, the team representatives and the team medics. A match shall be considered as cancelled in case of failure to hold or being called off for any other reasons not attributable to any teams (also referred to as “force majeure”).
- Ticket Refunds
We will announce further information on ticket refunds as soon as details are finalized.
- Media Accreditation for the Cancelled Matches
An email will be sent to the accredited media for further detail on the handling of media accreditation for the matches.
Osamu Ota, JRTL Chairman commented:
We would like to express our sincere apologies to all the fan who were looking forward to the matches. We are also deeply sorry for the anxiety and inconvenience we caused many concerned parties including those involved in the match operation due to the group infections occurred in several Top League clubs.
While the Top League established its “COVID-19 Guidelines” and has been working on the league’s preparation and prevention measures with the clubs, we now see a real threat of the virus as anyone can get infected anywhere. Fortunately, there are no player who has become severe and we sincerely hope those infected for their quick recovery.
We will take sincere care of the cases identified in multiple teams and continue to share the latest status with the clubs, review the guideline as well as ensure thorough prevention and behavioral management in the clubs to prevent any further spread. With safety of everyone as our top priority, we are committed to complete our 2021 season.