Moana Pasifika face mid-week deadline to prove fitness for debut against Chiefs

Moana Pasifika are in a race against time to prove they have recovered sufficiently from their COVID-19 outbreak to field a team for their match against the Chiefs on Sunday.

The team was forced to self-isolate in their Queenstown hotel after several players and staff tested positive, a number coach Aaron Mauger says was "a lot higher" than the seven originally reported.

Subsequently, their opening game against the Blues was postponed.

While the first contingent of the squad were cleared to return to training on Sunday, there are still 15 players self-isolating in the hotel.

NZ Rugby has tweaked the Super Rugby Pacific schedule for round two to allow the team more time to prepare, pushing Moana Pasifika's game from Friday back to Sunday afternoon.

But the team only has until Wednesday to prove it can field a matchday-23 for their potential Super Rugby debut.

[Source: Newshub]