Another testing day for Exeter in Covid outbreak ordeal

EXETER will go through a fresh round of Covid testing today and then face an anxious wait to discover if their outbreak has been contained or will cause further disruption. The Devon club were last week hit by a ‘double-figure’ number of positive test results, which led to the cancellation of yesterday’s Heineken European Champions Cup showdown with Toulouse in France. That saw the Chiefs’ continental title defence rocked by official confirmation that Toulouse were deemed to be the 28-0 winners. Now Exeter will be desperate to avoid the Covid chaos undermining their Premiership campaign, too. In line with league procedures, they will be tested again today and can expect to receive results early on Wednesday. Rob Baxter’s squad are going through a 10-day period of self-isolation in the hope that they will be cleared to face Gloucester at home on Boxing Day. Any further positive results may raise the threat of having to forfeit that game. The fall-out from Exeter’s virus outbreak goes on, as Glasgow are reportedly set to lodge a complaint with tournament organisers about alleged breaches of Covid protocols by the Devon club at Sandy Park when the teams clashed on December 13. As of last night, EPCR had not received any official contact on the matter, but it is understood the Scottish side were concerned about what they saw as a lack of social distancing and mask-wearing by Chiefs replacements and staff.