The Irish club, severely hit by the Covid-19, was not authorized by the EPCR to play the meeting scheduled for Friday. Montpellier wins 28-0 on the green carpet.
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The match between Montpellier HR and Leinster Rugby, scheduled for Friday evening as part of the second day of the Champions Cup group stage, has been canceled. It is the EPCR, organizer of the European rugby cups, which announced Thursday, December 16 via a press release. Consequently, the Hérault club is given the winner on the green carpet.
The governing body ruled that the match “could not be played safely”. The EPCR reports “new positive results in Covid-19 tests“at the Irish club, without however specifying the number of contaminated players. Leinster had still communicated a team composition Thursday.
| Tea #LeinsterRugby team management have expressed their disappointment at the decision of EPCR to award a 28-0 win to Montpellier.
More: https://t.co/qQf3lOtu12#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/XP8stVPFht
– Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) December 16, 2021
This is the second Champions Cup game canceled, following the Bristol-Scarlets meeting on Matchday 1. As provided for in the regulations, Montpellier was declared the winner 28-0. This large score confers an offensive bonus, and therefore five points in the standings, for the players of Philippe Saint-André. A measure qualified as “tournament management” by the EPCR, which refutes the term “sanction”. Leinster, however, expressed its “disappointment” on his Twitter account.