Northern | US

Piers Francis stepping down from England squad become latest twist in Sale virus saga


(Photo by Lynne Cameron/Getty Images)
Comments
Comment

Last week’s appearance off the Northampton bench by Piers Francis has seemingly cost him his England training squad spot as the midfielder has tested positive for Covid-19. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Sale’s trip to Franklin’s Gardens assumed unprecedented levels of notoriety when it later emerged that 16 of their players and three staff members tested positive for the virus.

The major outbreak resulted in Sale’s Gallagher Premiership match at home to Worcester last Sunday getting postponed until this Wednesday while Northampton were forced to forfeit their match at Gloucester, losing 20-0 off the pitch as they were unable to fulfil the fixture due to self-isolating front rows.  

Video Spacer

Look what’s coming to RugbyPass!

Video Spacer

Look what’s coming to RugbyPass!

That situation has now had a sequel as Saints’ Francis won’t now train with England this week despite being selected by Eddie Jones in a 28-strong squad announced on Monday. 

An RFU statement on Tuesday evening read: “Piers Francis (Northampton Saints) will not be part of this week’s England camp because of a positive screening test for Covid-19. Francis is following relevant isolation protocols at home in line with PHE-agreed guidelines.”

The sidelining of Francis is the latest twist in a chaotic end to the 2019/20 Premiership season. Sale, who avoided having to forfeit their game with Worcester, can still qualify next weekend’s semi-finals, but their virus outbreak has left Northampton very frustrated. 

Saints CEO Mark Darbon said in an open letter to fans on Tuesday: “The decision to forfeit our final game against Gloucester on Sunday was incredibly frustrating and not the way we wanted the season to end… to lose our final fixture as a result of an outbreak at another club is extremely disappointing.”

ADVERTISEMENT

England boss Eddie Jones had earlier revealed on Tuesday that his 28-strong squad risked reduction to 25 as three players were under scrutiny for the virus.

    

Stream Nations Championship 2026 LIVE

Hemispheres collide in the new Nations Championship. Stream live, replays and highlights free on RugbyPass TV.

Watch on RPTV
Starts 4th July 2026 - USA only.
ADVERTISEMENT
Play Video
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Long Reads

Comments on RugbyPass

N
NoLongerARuck 53 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

The Six Nations produced so many compelling games and so much of action packed moments that you can only conclude that its the best international comp out there at the moment except for a world cup. If Wales improve it will be even better especially given the strides Italy have made in recent times. The Rugby Championship is now taking a hiatus in a year it really should be building toward something better which is terrible considering the competition was so tight last year. The Nations Champs promises much but one gets the feeling that the 6 Nations teams will not be at their peak given its at the end of their long season. In terms of rugby quality and entertainment Id rather watch the 6 Nations over everything else other than a world cup right now. The North arguably offers more in terms of entertainment than the South at club level as well. The Prem, the Champs Cup, URC and Top 14 all feature plenty of scoring and different playing styles while Super Rugby seems to be the same thing game in game out. While the South tries to speed up the game artificially with new trials and law variations the North has shown you can do it with good refereeing which penalises cynical play harshly and encourages positive actions on the field. In terms of entertainment the North wins. In terms of winning? They are making strides but until they win another world cup or get a team to rank number 1 again for an extended time again they cant really say they are better than the South.

35 Go to comments
Close Panel
Close Panel

Edition & Time Zone

{{current.name}}
Set time zone automatically
{{selectedTimezoneTitle}} (auto)
Choose a different time zone
Close Panel

Editions

Close Panel

Change Time Zone

Copied to clipboard

Share Article close