RA CEO Andy Marinos is confident the decision to move the first Test to Suncorp Stadium provides the safest bet to maximise crowds amid COVID outbreaks across the country.
The decision was made to move the game from the SCG as Greater Sydney enters a two-week lockdown until July 9.
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In need of a new venue, the options came down to Newcastle or Suncorp Stadium, with the French still in quarantine in Sydney.
However, the rapidly developing outbreak in NSW made a move up to the Hunter not viable according to Marinos, with the French set to be based out of Queensland after they finish their two-week quarantine period.
“Newcastle was an option but we suddenly realised that the hard lockdown that was coming to Sydney, there wasn’t any guarantee that wouldn’t be extended outside Greater Sydney metropolitan area to capture the regional areas, which would’ve included Newcastle,” he explained.
“We also have the tricky dynamic with the Wallabies on the Gold Coast and the French here in Sydney. The logistics of getting the Wallabies in and both teams out simultaneous was going to be a challenge because we didn’t have any certainty around what border implications were going to be with other states.
“We realised we had the ability with the French coming out of quarantine to get them up into Brisbane where we have a greater degree of certainty.”
As borders continue to shut and cases develop across the country, Marinos preached the importance of remaining flexible as they prepare for their Test calendar to start, which includes the Rugby Championship.
“It’s multi-faceted and it certainly isn’t easy but we’ve got to be able to pivot and pivot pretty quickly. I always have the mindset that we’ve got to control the controllable,” he said.
“Where we got as much certainty around our camp, we’ve got to pursue that. We have to take the advice and act responsibly in the best interest of the broader population and the players that we don’t make any decisions that are contrary to the health orders at the time.
“We’ve also been engaging with the governments to get their support. It’s also about getting a better understanding and better sense of which direction they will go as we navigate our way through the process.
“It’s not simple but that’s one thing that COVID has taught us, we have to be flexible. Where there is a common desire to make things happen, it’s fair to say from a government and federation perspective, as we’ve seen across other codes we need to adapt and compromise so at the end of the day we get the right outcomes.”
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Despite having just eight days to promote the game, Marinos were optimistic they could attract a sizeable crowd for the match on short notice.
"We've had to factor in the further financial impact and that sits on both sides. We’ve been quite creative and proactive with the offer we’ve put forward. We’ve seen the people of Queensland have supported major events and we're pretty confident we will get a good crowd that will be able to manage the impact," Marinos added.
"It's a bit difficult at this stage to say what that hole is going to be but we've got a whole lot of mitigation strategies in place to try to reduce that as much as possible if there's going to be one at all."
