Six Nations fears grow with French wary of trip to Dublin

THE French deputy minister for sport will sanction the national team’s participation in the opening Six Nations match against Italy in Rome, but is demanding further information before allowing the tournament as a whole to proceed.

Having pulled the plug on the final two rounds of the Heineken Champions Cup pool stages this week due to concerns over the UK variant strain of the coronavirus, the French government has now turnedurned its attention to the annual cham-ampionship which is due to getet under way on February 6.

Fabien Galthie’s teamm are expected in Dublin too face Andy Farrell’s (right)) charges on February 14 andnd that game is now in doubt.

After a meeting with organisers, deputy minister for sport Roxana Maracineanu said she would need further information before making a final decision on the other matches.

“The first game will be played against Italy,” Maracineanu told RMC Sport.

“On the other hand, for the games against Ireland and England, we really need to obtain the necessary guarantees from these countries to show us that their protocols are as demanding and serious as the ones we have in France.

“When there are international meetings, we endanger, in a way, the health of these athletes.

“So we have to have guarantees about what we are committing to as a means to preserve the health of athletes, and this must be the same in all countries.”

The Six Nations is determined to go ahead as planned and discussions with the French government will continue this month.

The six participating unions, meanwhile, are in line for a significant cash injection later this month as a deal with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners nears completion.

The IRFU is in line to receive an estimated €56m from the €408m deal to take a 14.5pc stake in the th tournament and, while no n deal has been reached, a union spokesman said “discussions are progressing well”.

The T funds will be a muchneeded need lifeline for cashstrapped unions, but the deal will likely see the tournament taken off free-to-air television from next year.

“As per the recent PRO14 agreement, any potential agreement will need the approval of the IRFU Union Committee, and the other five Unions.

“The IRFU Union Committee meets on an monthly basis and will consider any proposed deal as soon as the terms have been finalised,” the spokesman said.