Opinion: Decision to postpone sporting events is right in current climate

Big sporting occasions usually bring people together in a great way, but it is having so many people from across the globe in one place is what is trying to be avoided.

Closer to home, a few rugby matches being postponed is minimal when you think of the bigger global picture. The so-called ‘social distancing’ approach - which is not just aimed at sporting events - is part of a strategy designed to delay the peak of the outbreak until later in the year.

In 2001, I was the agricultural correspondent for Farming Life, as well as having some sporting duties with the News Letter.

I refer to that period because it was the last time the Six Nations Rugby Championship was affected by match postponements. (I do not include 2012 when France v Ireland was postponed, because that was due to a frozen pitch in Paris.)

Nineteen years ago there was, just as there is today, fear. But the key difference was it was livestock and livelihoods that were being lost as a result of Foot and Mouth, not people’s lives.

The Coronavirus (Covid-19) is rapidly spreading around the globe and in the past week Ireland (North and South) has seen its first cases confirmed; following on the back of case being confirmed in, among others, Italy and France.

We are currently in a global health crisis and as part of the effort to stop or contain the spread of Covid-19, sporting fixtures - or events with large gatherings - are being postponed.

There was obvious disappointment when it was confirmed during the week that the Six Nations Round Four match at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, between Ireland and Italy was postponed - just 24 hours after Ulster’s visit to Benetton Treviso and Ospreys game at Zebre were postponed - but there are more important things than rugby.

And now doubts surround England’s game in Italy in round five and on the same weekend (March 14) Ireland’s visit to France.

On Saturday authorities in France banned all indoor events with attendances above 5,000, although the Paris Half-Marathon was cancelled along with a number of public gatherings. Football matches did still go ahead as planned, but the situation could change as things develop.

Ulster are due to play Toulouse in the European Champions Cup quarter-finals on April 5, and the staging of that in the large French town could also be in doubt. In some ways 2020 is similar to 2001 in the doubt that exists, but one thing for certain, no matter how big an impact Foot and Mouth had on the Irish and UK agriculture sectors, C-19 is much more serious as it affects public health and while we are being assured there is no need to panic, we must not be apathetic around it.

The Six Nations Championship in 2001 was completed, albeit in October, with Ireland missing out on a Grand Slam when they suffered a shock loss away to Scotland.

It is still unknown what will happen this time around but on the domestic front, the Guinness PRO14 have announced that if games in the competition which were postponed and cannot be completed before the end of the regular season, the teams involved will receive two points each and the game will be a 0-0 draw.

It would have implications on final placings in the Conferences ahead of the knockout stages as well as key spots in the European Champions Cup for next season, but the seriousness of C-19 cannot be taken lightly - some things are more important than sport.

After that start to this week’s column, it almost seems contradictory of me to ramble on about rugby, but there is still plenty to talk about off the pitch.

Ulster confirmed during the week they had secured the signing of well travelled New Zealand scrum half Alby Mathewson.

Initial speculation surfaced less than 12 hours after Ruan Pienaar had made his Belfast return with Toyota Cheetahs in the PRO14, three years after the South African half back had been forced to leave the Province on an IRFU directive.

The reasons cited were Pienaar was blocking the pathway for an Irish player. While there was uproar at the time from those in the Kingspan/Ravenhill stands, the IRFU were correct in their thinking.

Three years on the IRFU can turn around and say ‘we told you so’ Pienaar’s replacement, John Cooney, now the number two choice on the Irish National side and making a really strong case to be starting ahead of Conor Murray.

Cooney’s climb in the ranks does mean that Ulster will be left without a key and influential member of their senior team away on National duty at several periods in the season and while there are replacement nines available during those times, it is an area which is lacking strength in depth.

Dave Shanahan is the number two choice, but with few opportunities to get a run of games and coming in behind an on fire Cooney, he naturally finds it tough to reach the expectations.

However, he has copped some unfair comments from the keyboard warriors on social media - and yes I do accept this might be a bit rich coming from someone whose regular work can involve being critical about players.

Shanahan and Johnny Stewart (third choice in Ulster) will not be overly joyed at the prospect of Mathewson arriving at Kingspan Stadium this summer. But while the All Black, who has signed on a one-year contract, obviously brings experience and adds depth to the squad, he will also be used to develop the future scrumhalves in Ulster. And that is probably more bad news for the current duo behind Cooney.

There is no doubting the pedigree of Mathewson who won the first of his five New Zealand caps in 2010, returned home to Australia in December 2019 after a hugely successful stint with Munster. He was a popular figure at the Irish province, where he initially joined as short-term cover but extended his stay until the completion of the Rugby World Cup in Japan last year.

Having played with the Hurricanes, Blues, Western Force and Toulon, prior to joining Munster, he has a wealth of experience across both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres.

Mathewson’s signing will not just have come out of the blue. There had been talk for some time of Ulster looking for a scrum half and, in liaison with Dublin, the planning for this will have started some time ago and the longer term future key around those discussions.

Ulster have some exciting talent emerging in Lewis Finlay, the current Ireland Under-20 scrum half, Nathan Doak, currently at Wallace High School and another Irish Schools’ player in Connor McKee.

Ireland and Ulster are investing in the future of the trio with the arrival of Mathewson who can impart a wealth of experience in the development of their games and hopefully ensure there are more indigenous Ulstermen on the Provincial side.