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Barrie McDermott: Rugby League World Cup go-ahead is outstanding for the sport
Former Great Britain and Ireland international Barrie McDermott has hailed the news the 2021 Rugby League World Cups will go ahead this year as an
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One of the major stumbling blocks around a two-week quarantine when the Australian players return home is whether the quarantine time is counted as two weeks of the players mandatory eight weeks annual leave, or if the NRL clubs accept the fortnight in quarantine is on "club time"
The latter would mean meaning the players will then subsequently be on holiday for eight weeks after that, resulting in a truncated pre-season with the 2022 NRL campaign due to get underway in the middle of March.
To ensure the men's World Cup goes ahead as planned, the World Cup organisers are considering chartering planes and are looking at arranging an alternative quarantine facility for athletes based in Australia upon their return down under.
McDermott was quick to praise tournament chief executive Jon Dutton and the organising committee for the work they have done in overcoming the challenges faced to ensure it goes ahead.
"Jon Dutton and his team have done a remarkable job, there's all kinds of things they're having to do," McDermott said.
"The big sticking point I believe is what happens when they return to the southern hemisphere after the tournament has finished, and I am hearing they're on about hiring a holiday resort to do the second part of their quarantine."