As the other thread now seems to have migrated into a discussion about the virus and the wider health and political implications, I thought I'd kick off one about the effects on the game and keep the two separate.

I think we are now beyond the point of thinking that we are going to be able to come out of the house in June and start watching rugby again. This is simply not going to happen. When you consider that Germany, a country that has kept the number of fatalities to a much lower level than here, has said that there will be no gatherings at sporting fixtures before September at the very earliest, then there is no reason to suspect that date is going to be improved upon here.

Given that the current season had only just got underway, unlike football, curtailing the season will not cause the same moral issues in terms of promotion, relegation and title races. Indeed, given the struggles of Toronto, it could well save the game a dilemma in that respect.

For me, I see no hope of sport being back on the menu soon and I actually don't really think we are going to see crowds over a few hundred at sporting fixtures back for another 12 months. I might be wrong. I hope I'm wrong, but I really think the public is being kept from the truth of the likely extent of the social distancing that will need to be kept in place for fear of social unrest. Given that the virus will not be killed off, it seems implausible that we can even think of mass gatherings throughout the winter months when the virus will still be circulating, at least until the elderly and vulnerable have access to vaccination.

On that basis, I cannot see past the season being abandoned completely, even if the RFL wish to carry on for the moment in the stubborn belief that it won't be.

However, it would be feasible perhaps to play out a convoluted season behind closed doors, as social distancing gets relaxed to allow small gatherings.

So, would it be morally right to get games underway in late summer and play some behind closed doors, and would that have any positive financial benefit via Sky TV?

Can any club realistically survive 12 months without playing?

Quite frankly, where do we go from here? How does the game get out of this situation?

Obviously, I am aware there are more important things than rugby at the moment, but we all need to keep the grey matter alert.