Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

'Catastrophic for careers' - Scarlets beg EPCR to reconsider postponement

By PA
Scarlets in action in Europe last season /PA

The Scarlets have urged European Professional Club Rugby to reconsider its position on the rescheduling of Heineken Champions Cup matches with 32 of their players currently quarantining in Northern Ireland.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Welsh region are due to play their tournament opener at Bristol on December 11, just a day after finishing their 10-day coronavirus quarantine period just outside Belfast.

A Scarlets statement said: “With the Welsh Government ruling that the squad that travelled to South Africa has to see out the full 10-day isolation period at a quarantine hotel outside of Belfast, Scarlets are urging European tournament organisers EPCR to reconsider their position on the rescheduling of matches.”

Video Spacer

Ryan Wilson on ‘almost’ becoming a Barbarians rugby captain | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 12

Video Spacer

Ryan Wilson on ‘almost’ becoming a Barbarians rugby captain | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 12

Teams who are unable to fulfil European Cup fixtures face forfeiting the game under strict tournament rules, and it is understood competition organisers currently have no plans to postpone games.

Such a stance, though, drew criticism last season after a handful of coronavirus-related cancellations saw clubs responsible handed 28-0 defeats.

Executive chairman Simon Muderack said on the Scarlets website: “If we were to play Bristol without the people who are in Ulster right now there are four or five positions where we physically do not have a body to fill that position.

“We are not coming out of quarantine until December 10 and a lot of these boys in Belfast haven’t played a game of rugby since October 22. EPCR has got to look at player welfare here.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Without the 32 players in quarantine, we’d have to play development players and academy players – some of them just out of school in their first season of senior rugby – as well as semi-pro players, who juggle their rugby commitments with full-time work and put them up against a quality side like Bristol.

“That wouldn’t be good for the integrity of the competition or those individuals.”

Muderack is adamant the Scarlets should have been granted a “sporting exemption” to train in Northern Ireland while the squad remained in isolation.

He said players were only allowed to have a short daily walk around the hotel car park and the risk of injury to unprepared players could be “catastrophic for careers”.

“None of us had any idea that this situation was going to occur, and that South Africa was going to be put on the red list,” Muderack said.

ADVERTISEMENT

“The URC is a new league and what we are trying to do is support the league’s aspirations by sending our very best available team to South Africa to perform as best as we can. That’s us doing the right thing by the league and rugby.

“For us to get penalised for that really doesn’t sit very well with me and we need to find a fair solution because forfeiting the game for something that was out of our control isn’t right.

“Ideally, we would have been granted a sporting exemption which has been done in the past so that the team, whilst remaining in isolation, could have continued to train and prepare for upcoming fixtures.

“At the moment, the best the players can do in their hotel in Belfast is exercise as individuals within the confines of their own rooms as well as being allowed a short time slot outside to walk around in the car park.

“That is no preparation for a high-intensity game of European rugby. In our world, physical capacity is everything. If players are ‘under done’ it can be catastrophic for careers and have a direct increase to risk of injury.

“The Scarlets have a proud history in European competition and we have been looking forward to testing ourselves against two sides in Bristol and Bordeaux who have been up there among the best on the continent in recent years.

“It is hugely disappointing that we will not be allowed to do that on a level playing field.”

Ospreys head coach Toby Booth said their neighbours Scarlets had contacted them asking if they had any players available.

“They’ve asked for seven or eight,” Booth said at a press conference before the Ospreys’ URC home game with Ulster.

“We’re willing to help out because it’s important we see the bigger picture here. It will suit us giving people opportunities to play in a prestigious game.

“The boundaries are certainly softer when you have to contingency plan to that extreme, so it’s about getting everyone in the tent together, helping each other out and looking after each other.

“Obviously we need to get player approval and EPCR need to agree around people not being cup-tied by playing, but hopefully common sense prevails and we can keep people playing.”

Cardiff have said that a travelling party of 42 players and staff are due to fly out of Cape Town on Thursday.

The 10-day period of quarantine on arrival in the UK – the party are set to serve their isolation spell in England – has put their opening Heineken Champions Cup games against Toulouse and Harlequins in jeopardy.

But director of rugby Dai Young says Cardiff will “do everything in our power” to play those two games.

ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

37 Go to comments
A
Adrian 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

37 Go to comments
FEATURE
FEATURE Storm clouds gather over Biarritz with owner poised to bail out Storm clouds gather over Biarritz with owner poised to bail out
Search