The spread of the English variant of SARS-CoV-2, a more contagious strain of the virus, worries the small world of sport. To the point of posing, for example, serious threats to the holding of European rugby competitions, whether the European Cups, or even the Six Nations Tournament.
In a press release sent to Agence France-Pesse (AFP) on Saturday, January 9, the minister responsible for sports announced that, “In accordance with the wishes expressed by several French professional rugby clubs in recent days”, he had recommended that they postpone their scheduled matches against the British teams in the European Cup.
According to the letter sent by the ministry to the National Rugby League (LNR), a consultation meeting on the organization of the Six Nations Tournament, scheduled for February 6, will also be held at the beginning of next week.
Monday January 4, a meeting between the medical commission of the LNR and the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), the organizer of the European Cups (the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup), had led to an agreement with a view to ” a strengthening of anti-Covid-19 controls, the protocol currently in force being considered too lax on the French side.
Aviron Bayonnais had to face nine cases of contamination with the British variant among its players after the second day of the Challenge Cup, played on December 19 against the English Leicester.
Meeting Monday January 11 for other sports
The ministry’s communication compromises the holding of the next two days of the group stage of the two European rugby cups, scheduled for January 15-16-17 and 22-23-24.
In the Champions Cup, Toulon, Lyon, Montpellier and Racing 92 must respectively host the Scarlets, Glasgow, the Wasps and the Harlequins. The Toulouse Stadium is supposed to move on the ground of the English title holder, Exeter, while the Clermontois must go to Ireland to face Munster and La Rochelle and Bègles-Bordeaux to move to Bath and Newport (Dragons).
The ministry also specifies in its press release that “Initiated a census of all the sporting events scheduled in France in the coming weeks including participants from the United Kingdom, as well as the travel forecasts of French sports delegations on British soil”.
A meeting will be organized from Monday January 11 with the various sports federations and the event organizers concerned.
