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London Irish Covid-19 outbreak forces Bath game to be called off

A number of London Irish players have tested positive for Covid-19. (Getty)

London Irish’s Boxing Day match at Bath at the Rec has been called off after some of their players tested positive for COVID-19 and others showed symptoms. The Premiership statement did not reveal the names or number of players who tested positive or showed symptoms after the latest round of COVID-19 testing.

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“Under the Premiership Rugby regulations, the match between London Irish and Bath Rugby will be cancelled,” the statement said.

“A Premiership Rugby panel will now be convened to determine the allocation of points and a further announcement will be made in due course.”

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All other round-four games will go ahead as per schedule, the statement added.

London Irish are seventh in the standings, while Bath are sixth after three rounds.

Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper said: “We stand by all Premiership Clubs today and while we are disappointed with this news, the health and safety of everyone in our sport must be our top priority.

“I know this news will be hard felt by our supporters who were due to attend and, but I know you’ll understand and join me in wishing all those affected this week a full and safe recovery.”

The game is the second Boxing Day fixture to called off this week. Leicester Tigers’ Boxing Day game at Newcastle Falcons was called off on Tuesday after Leicester returned positive tests for COVID-19.

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cw 8 hours ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Thanks JW for clarifying your point and totally agree. The ABs are still trying to find their mojo” - that spark of power that binds and defines them. Man the Boks certainly found theirs in Wellington! But I think it cannot be far off for ABs - my comment about two coaches was a bit glib. The key point for me is that they need first a coach or coaches that can unlock that power and for me that starts at getting the set piece right and especially the scrum and second a coach that can simplify the game plans. I am fortified in this view by NBs comment that most of the ABs tries come from the scrum or lineout - this is the structured power game we have been seeing all year. But it cannot work while the scrum is backpeddling. That has to be fixed ASAP if Robertson is going to stick to this formula. I also think it is too late in the cycle to reverse course and revert to a game based on speed and continuity. The second is just as important - keep it simple! Complex movements that require 196 cm 144 kg props to run around like 95kg flankers is never going to work over a sustained period. The 2024 Blues showed what a powerful yet simple formula can do. The 2025 Blues, with Beauden at 10 tried to be more expansive / complicated - and struggled for most of the season.

I also think that the split bench needs to reflect the game they “want” to play not follow some rote formula. For example the ABs impact bench has the biggest front row in the World with two props 195cm / 140 kg plus. But that bulk cannot succeed without the right power based second row (7, 4, 5, 6). That bulk becomes a disadvantage if they don’t have a rock solid base behind them - as both Boks showed at Eden Park and the English in London. Fresh powerful legs need to come on with them - thats why we need a 6-2 bench. And teams with this split can have players focused only on 40 minutes max of super high intensity play. Hence Robertson needs to design his team to accord with these basic physics.



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