Resumption latest

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   Article below from the Telegraph concerns the Prem, but gives a (rather pessimistic) glimpse into the potential longevity of the current crisis, and would have wider implications, including for Championship including our outgoing (Falcons) & incoming (Sarries) members... (as well as internationals, Lions, Europe etc)...
But of course this is speculative and only options at this stage.

Premiership Rugby is fast-tracking
innovations – including remote-camera technology – and planning the logistics
for playing behind closed doors, with a growing acceptance within clubs that
crowds are unlikely to return until next year.

It is
understood that clubs are determined to complete this season’s Premiership campaign in full,
even if it means finishing in November."We want to play every game, we
want to finish the season. It is highly probable that it will be behind closed
doors and we are working torward that as our main restart scenario,” said a
senior Premiership source. 

“Everyone wants to finish the season.
The clubs would rather finish it in October and November than write it off. We
would then have around a four-week break and find a way of playing a little
longer into next year.”

Nine rounds of this season’s league
remain, as well as semi-finals and the final, with no formal indication of when
action will be allowed to resume.

However,
contingency plans to return, possibly as early as late June, are understood to
be at an advanced stage, based on the Government relaxing social-distancing measures early next
month. There is an agreement that players will require a minimum of
four-weeks of contact training before games can resume.

Testing players for Covid-19 will
also be key, although clubs want to proceed only if there is no drain on NHS
resources. If it is feasible, players would be tested before coming back into
training camp and then be quarantined in hotels ahead of a round of matches.

It is likely that each round of six
matches will be played at one stadium across a weekend. Three rounds will be
played midweek to complete the league the end of August, with full squad
rotation to protect player welfare.

“There is a hope that if the
Government relaxes social distancing next month, even if it is the end of the
May, it means we can bring the players back into impact training in June,” said
a Premiership source. “They will need four weeks of contact training so the
screening and testing protocols need to be in place by then. We could look at
getting started by the start of July, which means we could finish the season by
the end of August.

“It is a dynamic model but the
intention is to play every game. The clubs and players want to play every game.
No one seems to be interested in awarding points for fixtures, that would be an
act of last resort.

“We won’t do anything unless it is
safe, we won’t do anything that takes resources away from front-line services.
We know where we sit in the hierarchy of important things.

“There is an acceptance that squads
will be rotated to ensure that the selection process is appropriate for each
player. No one in a club wants to do anything to put any athlete in harm’s way.

“We could have all 12 teams in
quarantine and locked down and play six games over one weekend. It is one of a
number of quite different ideas.”

The contingency plans could also lead
to a revolution in broadcasting, with host broadcaster BT Sport considering
fitting out stadiums with up to 15 remotely controlled cameras to remove the
need for film crews. With no crowds as a backdrop, it is thought that new
camera angles are being considered.

Several stadiums, including
Twickenham and the Ricoh Arena, are under consideration as locations, with the
key criteria being broadband connectivity and on-site medical facilities.

“One of the things that has been
worked on with BT is not having to deploy camera crews,” said a source. “They
will rig up the stadium with around 12 to 15 remote control cameras and then
run the whole production from their master control room in Stratford. It
requires a lot of broadband connectivity. Sometimes crises lead to technology
jumps. BT seem keen to make it happen.”

Clubs are considering options to make
matches accessible to supporters while retaining social distancing. Leicester
are thought to be considering plans to set up a drive-in cinema-style facility
for supporters to watch games on a big screen in car parks at Welford Road.