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UK clubs threaten boycott over fears players 'trapped' in France

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Xavier Leoty/AFP via Getty Images)

Quarantine rules in France have left UK teams travelling there this weekend threatening a boycott due to fears their players could be left stranded following Champions and Challenge Cup matches versus Top 14 opposition. Premiership trio Sale, Bath and Newcastle are scheduled to respectively play at Clermont, La Rochelle and Biarritz while Scarlets, who endured a nightmare November trip to South Africa in the URC, are supposed to travel to Bordeaux.

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However, while tournament organisers EPCR confirmed last Friday that rounds three and four would proceed as planned as there has been a loosening of the French Government regulations that led to the eleventh-hour postponement of seven matches on the eve of last month’s round two weekend schedule, there are fears that the health rules haven’t been relaxed enough. 

Teams travelling to France this weekend are supposed to observe a 48-hour period of quarantine upon their arrival while there is also disquiet that anyone who tests positive for the virus could find themselves stranded for ten days. These fears have reportedly led to emergency talks. 

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For instance, Newcastle were due to travel on Wednesday to Biarritz for their Challenge Cup tie but they have only organised a flight to France for Friday morning, ignoring the 48-hour rule. The latest take from Newcastle boss Dean Richards following their weekend Premiership loss to Northampton was: “It’s not as simple as EPCR just coming out and saying the games are going ahead. There is still a 48-hour isolation period for people entering France and there has been no clarity on what that means.

“If anyone tests positive there will be a ten-day isolation period and you would have to assume that will be for virtually the whole squad if they have been on a plane and a bus together. To be honest I’m not sure if we can go.”

Meanwhile, Sale boss Alex Sanderson told this week’s edition of BBC podcast Rugby Union Weekly: “The last hoop to jump through is this need to go and test over there 48 hours before the game. If you test positive on a PCR – and bear in mind that, if you have had Covid you can test positive for up to 90 days after – you are trapped in France.

“In today’s environment, there is going to be three or four players from each club who, if they are tested right now, test positive on a PCR because they have had it in the last 90 days. It’s rife. As such, we would be leaving these lads in France for weeks. If it was summertime and you were around Bordeaux or Biarritz, that wouldn’t be a bad thing. But if you’re in a mid-century concrete hotel eating baguettes for ten days, then it is going to be a pretty lonely place.

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“It’s for the protection of the players, to be able to play the next week and in the Premiership the week after that, that we hopefully get some influence that we don’t have to jump through any more hoops. A week ago we couldn’t get our Schengen visas through, so they have moved heaven and earth to try and get this competition on to travel for ‘economic reasons’,” continued Sanderson about Sale’s Champions Cup assignment at Clermont. 

“All that is brilliant, it means we can take a squad. It’s just whether we can come back home with a squad because so many have tested positive, which is why we missed the Newcastle game. So all of those lads would potentially have to stay out there.”

The latest statement from EPCR on the developing Champions and Challenge Cup situation read: “EPCR is continuing to work with the Ligue Nationale de Rugby, as well as with the other leagues and unions, to seek improvements to the conditions which currently apply to UK clubs when they travel to France, and to French clubs returning from the UK. If the 48-hour isolation period happens to be maintained for matches in round three, clubs will be permitted to train during this time provided relevant Covid-19 protocols are observed.”

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Adrian 1 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

8 Go to comments
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Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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Bull Shark 7 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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