Coronavirus is gripping the world right now, meaning that everyone is affected in one way or another. In the USA, the reaction has been slower than most European countries, with New York franchise player Ben Foden highlighting just how difficult it has been to cope.
Foden plies his trade in the new Major League Rugby with Rugby United New York and has spoken out about how life apparently carried on as normal, despite an increasing number of cases of COVID-19 being recorded in New York state.
“It’s gone a bit mental in New York, getting bigger and bigger every day. But no-one really gives a f*ck, everyone’s still on the piss, all the bars are still open,” Foden told RugbyPass’ Jim Hamilton.
“All the supermarkets are still open as well, Starbucks and everything too,” Foden added.
RNYU were supposed to have their first home game of the season against Seattle on March 15th, but the team took a decision not to play it, which preceded a league-wide shutdown on action.
Major League Rugby (MLR) then opted to cancel the remaining matches in the season, with the franchise-based league returning for 2021.
In a statement, MLR Commissioner George Killebrew said: “On behalf of MLR and all of our teams, I am saddened to announce that the remainder of the 2020 season is cancelled. We believe it is ultimately the correct decision as we factored in health and safety risks for all parties.
“I want to ensure our fans that there is no doubt MLR will be back in 2021 and will emerge bigger and better than ever before. We will be using this time as an opportunity to grow all aspects of MLR and we’re excited to continue this journey into 2021, and for many years to come.”
*note: the pandemic situation is constantly evolving. This interview was recorded on Friday 20 March
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