WASPS GIVEN GREEN LIGHT FOR EXETER TITLE SHOWDOWN

EXETER have welcomed the green light given to their Premiership final opponents on Saturday after Wasps received a clean bill of health in the final round of pre-match coronavirus tests.

Seven Wasps players and four backroom staff had previously been diagnosed with Covid-19, meaning Bristol were placed on stand-by to appear in the Twickenham showpiece instead.

But Exeter rugby director Rob Baxter, fresh from being crowned European champions at the weekend, was delighted to receive a message from Wasps head coach Lee Blackett yesterday revealing the final could go ahead as planned.

‘It’s obviously good news,’ said Baxter, whose side could become just the fourth English club to complete a domestic and European double. ‘We ourselves had the all-clear as well this morning, completely negative right across the board, which is fantastic news for us.

‘It was great to have a message from Lee saying their testing had gone well. And now we can confirm and get on with things. Wasps will deem themselves very unlucky. I think they are one of the teams that have hardly picked up anything at all right the way through, and then right at the business end of the season they’ve had one little outbreak.’

After Premiership Rugby confirmed Wasps’ place in the final, the club’s chief executive Stephen Vaughan said: ‘To all of our fans and well-wishers, thank you for your many messages of support.’

Bristol, beaten 47-24 in their play-off semi-final by Wasps, tweeted: ‘We thought we might have been in... but now we’re out. Congratulations to Wasps and Exeter. Deserved finalists and we wish you the best of luck for the final.’