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EPCR statement: Decision reached on postponed round two matches
All postponed matches from round two of the Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup have now been cancelled, while uncertainty continues to hover over the remainder of the group phase. A board meeting of tournament organiser EPCR has conceded defeat in its effort to find a new slot in an already-packed rugby calendar for the seven games that could not be staged last month as a result of travel restrictions brought in by the French government.
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It has been decided to record the five Champions Cup fixtures and two from the Challenge Cup as 0-0 draws.
The same safety measures imposed on travellers to and from the UK still threaten the final two rounds of the pool stage despite exemptions being secured for what is termed the “pursuit of an economic activity”, relaxing the rules for players, coaching staff and officials.
Clubs travelling to France, however, are concerned about the quarantine rule which requires negative Covid-19 tests to leave isolation. Any positive PCR or antigen test would lead to a longer quarantine period in the country.
The PA news agency understands that on Tuesday evening the outlook on modified quarantine rules being granted by Paris remained hopeful, reducing the threat of a boycott by English teams who fear the potential for players being left in France.
Fears grow that we might not have a full round of games in next weekend's round three of the Champions and Challenge Cup tournaments #HeinekenChampionsCup #ChallengeCup #Sale #Bath #Newcastle #Scarletshttps://t.co/HFo36KPLDl
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 11, 2022
Bath, Sale and the Scarlets are due to play European Cup games in France against La Rochelle, Clermont Auvergne and Bordeaux-Begles respectively on Saturday and Sunday. Newcastle, meanwhile, are scheduled to visit Challenge Cup opponents Biarritz on Friday. For the round two games, rather than issue a 28-0 defeat to one team as happens in the event of an outbreak of coronavirus, it has been decided a scoreless draw is a more appropriate outcome.
“The matches were initially postponed following the unforeseen introduction of new travel measures between the UK and France, which resulted in EPCR being unable to obtain assurances that existing cross-border travel exemptions for players, club staff and match officials would remain in place,” a statement read.
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“The options of modifying the tournament formats and/or rescheduling the matches were deliberated in great detail by all parties. However, in an increasingly complex fixture calendar due to Covid, it was regrettably decided that the only choice in the circumstances was to cancel the matches.
“On the basis that none of the clubs involved were in a position to play once the EPCR board had postponed the seven matches, the only option open to the EPCR executive was to record the results as 0-0 draws and to award two match points to each club.”
Comments on RugbyPass
If he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
16 Go to commentsI would like to see a rule change, when the attacking team is held up over the try line, by allowing the defensive team to restart a goal line drop out releases the pressure for the defensive team, but what if the attacking team had to restart a tap 5m out from the defensive team it gives the attacking team to apply more pressure, there are endless options for the attacking side and it will keep the fans in suspence.
2 Go to commentsLess modern South African males predictably triggered.
16 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to commentsBest team ever…. To have played? These guys are still pressure chokers. Came nowhere when it counted. What a joke
81 Go to commentsMusk defends anonymous terrorism, fascism, threats against individuals and children etc etc But a Rugby club account….lock ‘em up!!!
2 Go to commentsActually the era defining moment came a few years earlier. February 2002 to be precise, when Michael D Higgins as finance minister at the time introduced his sports persons tax relief bill to the dial. As the politicians of the day stated “It seems to be another daft K Club frolic born in Kildare amongst the well-paid professional jockeys with whom the Minister plays golf” and that the scheme represented “a savage uncaring vision of Ireland and one that should be condemned”. The irfu and Leinster would be nowhere near the position they are in today without this key component of the finances.
5 Go to commentsIt is crystal clear that people who make such threats on line should be tried and imprisoned. Those with responsibility in social media companies who don’t facilitate this should be convicted. In real life, I have free speech to approach someone like Reinach and verbally threaten him. I am risking a conviction or a slap but I could do it. In the old days, If someone anonymously threatened someone by letter the police would ask and use evidence from the postal system. Unlike the Post, social media companies have complete instant and legal access to the content in social media. They make money from the data, billions. Yet, they turn a blind eye to terrorism, Nazi-ism and industrial levels of threats against individuals including their address and childrens schools being published online all from ananoymous accounts not real people. They claim free speech. Free speech for anonymous trolls/voilent thugs threatening people under false names? The fault is with the perps but also social media companies who think anonymous personas posting death threats constitutes free speech.
2 Go to commentsSo if this ain’t the best Irish team ever then who exactly is? I don’t remember any other Irish team being this good & winning a series in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Yes I may rip them often for 8 X QF RWC exits & twice not even making it to the QF, but they’re a damn good team who many think can only improve, including me!
81 Go to comments