Six Nations gets green light to continue... for now

THE Six Nations will continue despite the fears over the spread of the coronavirus, but organisers could not confirm whether the remaining five fixtures will go ahead as planned.

A meeting in Paris between the six unions involved resulted in an agreement for the five remaining Championship fixtures to go ahead, though this weekend’s postponed match between Ireland and Italy — as well as the corresponding women’s and Under-20s games — will remain off after the Irish Rugby Football Union held talks with the government last week.

The Six Nations has also vowed to complete all fixtures across all three Championships, meaning the Ireland v Italy games are certain to be played later in the year with no more fallow weeks scheduled during the tournament, but while organisers confirmed that England’s final weekend trip to Rome remains on — given it is the fixture most under threat due to the seriousness of the coronavirus outbreak in Italy — it is no guarantee that the game will go ahead as planned.

There are also serious concerns among the Rugby Football Union about the staging of the women’s and Under-20s games that weekend, which are both due to take place in the north of the country at the Stadio Plebiscito and Payanini Rugby Centre respectively, and officials confirmed that the matches could yet be relocated to give them the best possible chance of going ahead.

“The Six Nations met today in Paris to address the current situation regarding the Covid-19 virus,” a statement read.

“Six Nations and its six unions and federations are following the situation very closely with their respective governments and relevant health authorities and will strictly follow any directive given that would impact sporting events.

“As it stands today, based on the latest information, all Six Nations matches currently scheduled are set to go ahead.

“Six Nations is in contact with the FIR (Italian Rugby Federation) and the RFU regarding the possibility of relocating the women’s and Under-20 Italy v England matches to another Italian location and we will make a further announcement on this in due course. However, the Italy v England senior men’s match in Rome is planned to go ahead.

“Six Nations intends to complete all 15 games across all three Championships when time allows but we will refrain from making any rescheduling announcements.”

With Italy’s Championship hopes over before they began, and Ireland suffering defeat last time out against England, the completion of the remaining fixtures could yet produce a winner on March 14.

The other games this weekend look set to go ahead, with Wales only needing to travel along the M4 to Twickenham and France cleared to head to Scotland, and should Ireland get the green light to play Les Bleus in Paris on the final day, Fabien Galthie’s side could secure a Grand Slam as the only unbeaten side remaining.

However, should France lose either of their remaining fixtures, the door will be open for England and Ireland to claim the Championship, meaning a winner may not be crowned until long after the scheduled end of the tournament.

Italy did issue a positive update yesterday morning to confirm that all rugby would resume this weekend where possible, though sport remains at risk in the infected northern