The two teams were to meet on Saturday at the hamlet stadium.
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The Saracens will not see the Pyrenees. And for good reason, the match between Pau and Saracens, scheduled for Saturday on the occasion of the second day of the Challenge Cup, is canceled. One “significant number of players tested positive for Covid-19” within the English club, forced the organizer to make this decision, Wednesday, December 15.
“Consequently, the club (of Saracens) is not able to play its match on the second day in complete safety”, indicated the European professional club rugby (EPCR), which oversees the continental club competitions.
“This match of Pool C which was to be played at the Stade du Hameau is therefore canceled and the Section Paloise is considered the winner by a score of 28-0 with five classification points allocated, in accordance with the tournament regulations”, added the EPCR in a statement.
Saracens have recorded a significant number of positive tests for Covid-19 among their playing squad and as a consequence, the club is not in a position to safely fulfil its EPCR Challenge Cup, Round 2 fixture against Section Paloise scheduled for Saturday (18 December) .
– EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) December 15, 2021
The organizer made a point of stressing that the attribution of this victory to the Section Pau on the green carpet was “a tournament management measure (…) and not a sanction”.
Pau lost his first match in the small European Cup last Saturday against the London Irish (33-17). The Saracens, three times European champions (2016, 2017 and 2019), had also started the competition with a defeat in front of Edinburgh (21-18). This defeat on the green carpet could compromise their chances of qualifying in the final phase.