Raelene Castle insists Rugby Australia will come out the other side of the coronavirus crisis intact despite being forced to suspend its broadcast rights process for the foreseeable future and flagging the possibility it may discuss its financial predicament with the government.

These are uncharted waters for rugby in Australia as the code prepares to be “impacted in ways that we could never have imagined” due to self-isolation protocols that have already resulted in Super Rugby being cancelled for the time being.

RA had hoped to field offers this week for the next five-year broadcast rights cycle but that deadline has been ditched due to the ongoing uncertainty facing potential bidders Optus and current rights holder Fox Sports.

As reported by the Herald this week, RA may have to wait six months to restart talks about a new broadcast deal depending on the profound economic impact COVID-19 has on companies.