The Champions Cup caught up with the health crisis. Like last season, the Covid epidemic is once again hitting teams from the old continent. This week, Welsh Scarlets Llanelli had to forfeit due to numerous positive cases. Result, Bristol was declared the winner with a score of 28-0.
Our fingers are crossed, but we should not arrive at this extreme outcome for the start of the European campaign of ASM Clermont this Saturday against Ulster at the Marcel-Michelin stadium (kick off at 6.30 p.m., to follow live on France Bleu Pays d’Auvergne).
Five positive cases = game lost?
But a doubt still hangs over the holding of this match. At the present time, a player has tested positive, according to our colleagues in the newspaper The mountain. Another is a contact case and was placed in solitary confinement. Another problem, unvaccinated players. We do not officially know their number (three according to the regional daily), but the health protocol stipulates that they are automatically excluded in the event of staff affected by the coronavirus.
The regulations of the European rugby authorities also stipulate that from five cases declared positive, the cluster leads to a forfeit of the infected team and the given match won to the opponent. We will have to wait a little longer to be fixed. The entire workforce and staff in Auvergne took PCR tests on Thursday. The results will be known during the day.