Things are slowly returning to normal across the rugby world, though the game remains shrouded in uncertainty in terms of what the calendar could look like for the rest of the year.
And that includes The Rugby Championship, which has no formal draw, official kick-off date or substantial details other than that New Zealand has been nominated as the tournament's preferred "hub" host.
Here's what we do, and don't, know about the tournament as it stands right now.
Does the tournament have a timeframe within which is scheduled to be played?
Yes. World Rugby confirmed last month that there would be a Test window between Oct. 24 and Dec. 12, with six weeks set aside for the Rugby Championship between Nov. 7 and Dec. 12. Tournament steward SANZAAR remains hopeful of staging all 12 games of the tournament, with the Wallabies, Springboks and Pumas all setting up camp in New Zealand.
Has New Zealand's second wave of COVID-19 cases placed the tournament in any doubt?
Not at this stage. Given the majority of the country's second wave of cases have occurred in New Zealand's North Island, specifically in Auckland and the surrounding areas, New Zealand Rugby remains confident in its ability to stage the Rugby Championship hub. It could be that the South Island is the preferred location while a stuff.co.nz media report suggested Queenstown was a likely host for the Wallabies, Springboks and Pumas.
Would the three visiting nations have to complete a two-week quarantine?
Yes. But it is hoped that each squad will be allowed to set up its own quarantine training hub, the type of which the NSW Government granted the Warriors and the NRL in Australia when the New Zealand team flew directly into Tamworth and quarantined at a training facility within the country town. The three touring teams then would be able to prepare on the training paddock while following the strict quarantine guidelines that have helped New Zealand be so successful at dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Is there a back-up plan should the New Zealand Government decide it doesn't want to take the risk of introducing further cases of coronavirus from Australia, South Africa and Argentina?
Kind of. Rugby Australia identified Perth as a hub destination early in the piece, and Western Australia continues to have low rates of coronavirus transmission. Up to 30,000 fans have been permitted at Optus Stadium for AFL matches, with an indication that capacity could be increased as the state hopes to secure the AFL Grand Final, meaning there would be scope for genuine crowds and atmosphere should Perth host the tournament. However, SANZAAR chief Andy Marinos has indicated the preference would be for Australia to stage the Rugby Championship on its eastern seaboard, bringing Brisbane and Sydney into the equation, if New Zealand were unable to host the tournament.
We know Australia and New Zealand have resumed playing, but what about South Africa and Argentina?
South Africa has experienced the fifth most coronavirus cases in the world [613,017] but has seemingly reached its daily peak. Many of the Springboks' Rugby World Cup stars have returned to action in Europe over the past fortnight, ensuring at least a portion of the players who would make up their squad for the Rugby Championship will have some rugby under their belts. Rugby is yet to resume in South Africa domestically, however, with the government granting clearance for training to resume only a month ago. SA Rugby hopes to have a domestic competition, of sorts, up and running sometime in September to help prepare its South Africa-based players for any possible Rugby Championship action. "At this stage, we hope to have our first matches by early to mid-September and our plans on the structure of the planned competition will be announced in due course, as we have various options to consider," SA Rugby chief executive Jurie Roux said.
Argentina, meanwhile, are a further step behind. When Super Rugby was officially cancelled, leaving the Jaguares out in the cold, players were encouraged to take up any available contracts in Europe, and a number of players did so. Those who didn't head for Europe have been taking part in a Pumas camp under the direction of coach Mario Ledesma. The camp has involved 46 locally based players, but, with coronavirus cases still surging -- above 7000 daily -- in the country, the potential for warm-up games to be played appears some way off.
Would the Rugby Championship go ahead if either or both the Springboks or Pumas were forced to pull out?
It is not beyond the realms of possibility that the tournament would go ahead without the Pumas, given the spread of coronavirus within the country -- back-rower Javier Ortega Desio tested positive earlier this week -- and the fact that New Zealand, Australia and South Africa contested the Tri Nations for 16 years before Argentina joined SANZAAR. That would be a big call, but one that may be forced on SANZAAR should the Pumas feel underprepared for the Rugby Championship. Given their greater depth, and status as World Cup champions, the Springboks are less of a concern, providing they can get what coach Jacques Nienaber has confirmed would be an extended squad to New Zealand. If both South Africa and Argentina were to withdraw, then it is likely the All Blacks and Wallabies would contest a four- or even five-Test Bledisloe Cup series.
Is there a chance some players could opt out of the tournament?
Absolutely. And it would follow the trend of athletes opting out of competitions, and their respective training and competition bubbles, across the globe. A Rugby Championship hub would involve players being away from their families and homes for the best part of two months, which is a fair lump of time given the emotional and mental toll the pandemic has taken on people all over the world. Looking specifically at some of the challenges for Australian players, for those Wallabies from Melbourne Rebels it would mean an even greater period away from home after they were forced out of Victoria because of the state's devastating second wave of COVID-19 cases. By the time the Rugby Championship is scheduled to conclude, the Rebels' Wallabies would have likely spent close to six months away from home.
How important financially is it that the tournament proceeds?
Each of the four SANZAAR nations is staring down a significant financial hole if the tournament fails to run as tentatively planned later this year. There were no in-bound Tests in July -- a significant part of each union's bottom line -- while the loss of television revenue from a complete international wipeout in 2020 would be a further disaster. Getting 12 Tests on television would go some way to mitigating the significant financial loss each union will feel in 2020, and give hope that brighter days might lie ahead of the game in the southern hemisphere in 2021.
What's the latest from SANZAAR, then?
ESPN put a series of questions to the southern hemisphere rugby alliance and was told that the Rugby Championship was far from "black and white at present". Furthermore, a SANZAAR spokesperson said: "All unions are keen to get TRC happening in the window allocated by World Rugby but we are still working though various issues in regard to travel, venues, government requirements...as soon as we have something solid we will let everyone know."