Autumn Nations Cup organisers working desperately to save fixtures after Fiji squad Covid-19 outbreak
The Autumn Nations Cup organisers are working with the Fiji squad and the French Rugby authorities to identify how many players have tested positive for COVID-19, which has serious implications for the start of the eight team tournament.
It is understood that between five and seven Fiji players tested positive at their training base in Limoges where they will be for the next two weeks. Fiji were scheduled to play Portugal in a warm-up game on November 6 but this has been shelved.
Fiji’s first match in the Autumn Nations Cup is against France on 15 November followed by Italy on 21 November before travelling to Murrayfield to play Scotland in the final round on the 28 November.
With Fiji, under new coach Vern Cotter, based in France, the FFR are heavily involved in trying to ascertain the number of players involved and further tests are due next week to help clarify the situation. In a statement the Autumn Nations Cup organisers said: “The Autumn Nations Cup testing oversight group has been notified of positive cases in the Fijian squad that have been placed in isolation as per required protocols.
“We are working closely with the Fijian rugby union and the FFR, given that Fiji’s base camp is in France, on appropriate measures and await further test results next week.”
John O’Connor, the Fiji RFU chief executive, is expected to issue a statement shortly about the reports of positive tests amongst the squad.
Cotter, assistant coach Glen Jackson and seven players in his Flying Fijians squad were involved in the Barbarians match preparations to face England which saw the game cancelled a week ago after 13 players left the team “bubble”. Those players are now awaiting a Rugby Football Union hearing with possible bans and fines likely, but the seven Fiji players did not leave the hotel and followed protocols. However, it has not been revealed if any of the seven have now been involved in the positive tests.
The majority of the Fiji squad are based in France where strict lockdown measures have been imposed to try and stem the increase in those being affected by the pandemic and organisers will want to know early next week if there is a significant problem with the Pacific Island nations squad which has already seen key players such as Semi Radradra and Pecili Yato ruled out by injury.
Cotter took over as head coach of Fiji in January but due to the pandemic only had charge of his first full training run with his players on Friday at the Beaublanc Stadium in Limoges. The squad includes Leicester wing Nemani Nadolo who has come out of retirement and fellow backs Ben Volavola and Levani Botia.
Comments on RugbyPass
Crowd sizes of the URC v the Premiership must be a big factor.
1 Go to commentsWell you’ve made a proper tit of yourself, haven’t you! 😂
173 Go to commentsBen it's beyond their comprehension-
203 Go to commentsThanks Sam. Interesting read. Harder or easier for Parling to come into a completely new setup where performance was abysmal last time out? I’d suggest easier to be better but, as you suggest, will be a lot to do with how much latitude he’s granted. Hopefully all he needs. With hybrids like Holloway, Hannigan, Swinton and Leota as options at 6 we have the basics for a strong lineout. BPA returning means we have good options at 2 also with Faessler, Porecki and Uelese, although Jordan is a scrumming beast rather than a dart thrower. I’m typically a pessimist or realist but that’s never applied to the Wallabies
1 Go to commentsMad how this somehow contained absolutely zero information.
1 Go to commentsI’m looking forward to attending the Twickenham match, I don’t think it will have a bearing on the outcome of the grand prize itself but it will tell us more about each teams’ preparation and game plan. It’s hard to look past one of the big four (I’m including Canada) lifting the trophy in 2025 but sport is a curious thing, there will still be twists and turns in road ahead.
2 Go to commentsThe better side seems to be the losing side a lot these days. As far as narrative goes. Must be the big emergent culture of “participation awards” that have emerged in nanny states. ”It looked like New Zealand would take the game from there but lapses in execution let South Africa get back into the game. New Zealand’s goal kickers left five points out there, including a very make-able penalty on the stroke of half”. Sounds like a chronic problem… I wonder how the better team has lapses in concentration and execution? Or are those not important factors in the grand scheme of total performances? In 2023, the ABs at least didn’t give up a lead to lose. They just couldn’t execute to get the points and take the lead. This Baby AB result points to a choke - letting the game slip through your fingers. In the words of the great Ricky Bobby’s dad - “If you’re not 1st you’re last!” Loosely translated - if you didn’t win, you’re a loser.
9 Go to commentsWith Stuart Lancaster at the helm, Racing 92 looks more and more a mercenaries club like Toulon some years ago and they are not even performing despite all the money on offer.
4 Go to commentsCouple of things BS missed: wind was behind the Baby Blacks in the first half. Baby Boks got points from a scrum penalty in the final quarter against this ‘dominant pack’, and left three points on the park after a missed penalty.
9 Go to commentsSensible thoughts on this, Brett. Also worth considering we’ve sold 60k tickets for a game between the Rebels and the Lions next year. Got to be roughly $10m in ticket and game day revenue there.
5 Go to commentsUnsuccessful bitter ex Ulster player taking a pop shot at a side that isn't including his consistently poor mates up north
6 Go to commentsHis decision to play in France isn’t a petulant decision as this article suggests. I reckon that France is the perfect place to demonstrate that he can mix it in those battles Rassie references. It’s a good decision to try get into the squad. My personal opinion is that he wins more battles than he loses. I don’t have Rassie’s stats machine behind me, but Daymian’s is so strong moving through traffic and in the rip.
4 Go to commentsWow! Argie forward dominance is something I have not read in years….
1 Go to commentsIs the ‘snub’ really why he is leaving? He hasn’t said that has he? You don’t have to stay in SA to play for the Boks, so it’s not that he’s giving up on trying to get into the squad as the case would be in, say, England or New Zealand. Rassie made it clear that the early camps won’t feature all the players to play for the Boks this year so I can’t imagine Dayimani was too offended by being overlooked this time. It just seems like a sensationalist angle to take for a story without really knowing the player’s intentions.
4 Go to commentsWell, it is easily one of the best Irish sides, it’s just that their historical standard is very low.
6 Go to commentsThe Irish side is good. They have lost 2 games in the last 23 tests. In the last 12 months they have have a 60% win rate against the top 5 sides in the world. Over the same period south africa have a 67% win rate against the top 5 teams, and New Zealand are at 40%.
6 Go to commentsOnly 1247 days until RWC 2027 starts Bin Smuth🤣Can’t wait to see how unhinged you’re still gonna get between now & then
203 Go to commentsany chance either team will improve on their u20 world cup performances this time around? I assume both sides will be deeply disappointed with how things went.
6 Go to commentsAnother poor articles by a poor journo, nothing new from Ben, at least you are consistently bad lol, geez I will try and watch the match later, clearly Benny was only looking to one end of the pitch, hard to tell whom the Baby Blacks were playing if it wasn’t in the header 😄😄
9 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
9 Go to comments