New Zealand lifts COVID-19 restrictions crowds free to attend Super Rugby Aotearoa

Crowds will be permitted to attend the opening round of Super Rugby Aotearoa this weekend, after New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed the country would shift to Alert Level 1 from midnight Monday [NZT]. In what is believed to be a first since the coronavirus pandemic put most professional sports on hold, there will be no restrictions on the size of the crowd that can attend this weekend's opening games between the Highlanders and Chiefs in Dunedin (Saturday), and the Blues and Hurricanes in Auckland (Sunday). New Zealand has not had a new COVID-19 case for 17 days, and there are no longer any active cases of the virus across the country.