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EPCR not ruling out Champions Cup postponements

By Online Editors
EPCR Champions Cup flag (Getty Images)

European Professional Club Rugby have issued a statement ahead of April’s Champions Cup and Challenge Cup quarter-finals, as sporting fixtures across Europe continue to be affected by the spread of the coronavirus.

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Earlier on Monday, the Six Nations confirmed that Saturday’s scheduled meeting of France and Ireland in Paris will not go ahead, bringing the number of postponements in this year’s championship up to three.

Ireland’s home game against Italy, set for last Saturday, and England’s trip to play Italy in Rome this weekend had already been postponed.

This weekend’s Wales v Scotland game in Cardiff is expected to go ahead as planned.

With the threat of coronavirus continuing to increase across Europe, there was concern that April’s return of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup could also be under threat.

Yet while EPCR are not postponing any fixtures yet, they confirmed that they will support any preventative measures that may be required.

“It is currently envisaged that the Heineken Champions Cup and European Rugby Challenge Cup quarter-final matches will go ahead as scheduled on the weekend of 3/4/5 April,” an EPCR statement read.

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“EPCR intends to complete all eight fixtures and will continue to monitor developments while liaising with the relevant league and union bodies, as well as governments and local authorities.

“EPCR is fully supportive of any preventative measures that might be required in the interests of overall public health in relation to Covid-19 and will respect instructions provided by authorities.”

Any postponements would further clog up an already congested fixture calendar.

There is a possibility that this year’s Six Nations may not be completed until October, and EPCR could struggle to fit in their own rescheduled fixtures should they need to postpone games.

There is also the possibility of Champions Cup and Challenge Cup games being played behind closed doors.

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In France, 19 deaths and 1,126 cases of Covid-19 have been recorded as of Sunday evening.

The number of coronavirus cases in the UK is now at 74, while there are 33 confirmed cases on the island of Ireland.

In Italy, the worst-affected European country, 7,375 people have so far been confirmed to have contracted the virus, with an exclusion zone in the north of the country enforced on Monday.

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Bull Shark 3 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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