SRU is given new date to approve for Paris match
The French Rugby Federation (FFR) and the National Rugby League (LNR) have reached an agreement on a new date for the postponed Guinness Six Nations match against Scotland.
France’s two rugby bodies want the match to be played on Friday March 26. It is now up to the Scottish Rugby Union, who will only agree to the new date if they are able to secure the release of their English-based players and the early indicationsare that the gallagher premier ship clubs would beam enable.
It is understood the English clubs have softened their customary hard-line stance on player release outside international windows in recognition of the complications caused by the pandemic.
Given that the match could be a title decider and may even result in unbeaten France crowned Grand Slam champions,it became imperative when finding a new date that both teams would have full player access.
The game should have been played last Sunday but was called off due to an outbreak of Covid-19 in the French camp which affected 11 players and head coach Fabien Galthie.
Reports in France say the clubs have agreed to release their players to the French national team for the match in return for compensation.
The weekend of March 26-2728 is a designated for club rugby, with matches scheduled in the
French top 14, english premier ship and Guinness Pro 14.
According to French news outlet RMC Sport, the agreement between the FFR and LNR puts the ball in Scotland’s court, although any new date would need the approval of the Six Nations Council.
Thirteen members of the Scotland squad play in England, including captain Stuart Hogg, Jonny Gray, Chris Harris and James Lang.
After Sunday’s match was postponed, head coach Gregor Townsend stressed how important it was that Scotland had a full squad for the rearranged fixture.
“Throughout this tournament,and the previous autumn Nations Cup, we have worked hard to maintain strict Covid protocols which have enabled us to select our strongest possible teams for these important international fixtures,” he said.
Glasgow Warriors coach Danny Wilson has warned Leone Nakarawa that he has a lot of work to do to get his match-fitness up to speed for the remainder of the season.
The Fijian forward, who has agreed a deal to join Ulster in the summer, looked out of sorts during the first half of Sunday’s 40-21 defeat by Leinster in Dublin. He was taken off at the break and replaced by young Gregor Brown who impressed on his Warriors debut.
A combination of the lockdown and a knee injury meant Nakarawa did not play for Glasgow for 11 months last year. He made his return as a substitute in the win over Edinburgh in January, then started in the home defeat by Ulster last month. He retained his place for the Leinster match but seemed to struggle with the pace of the game.
“He’s got a lot of work to do, if I’m being brutally honest,” said Wilson of the experienced lock’s fitness.
“Obviously Leone is coming back from a long-term knee injury and we took him off at half-time and brought Gregor Brown on, who I thought brought real energy.”
Nakarawa’s second spell with Glasgow has struggled to live up to his initial stint at the club.
A popular player with the Scotstoun faithful, he helped Warriors win the Pro12 in 2015 with a man-of-thematch performance in the final against Munster.
He secured a lucrative move to Racing 92 later that year and was named European player of the year in 2018. However, his time in France ended on a sour note when his contract was terminated after he failed to return from the 2019 Rugby World Cup on time.
He rejoined the Warriors in January last year and played three times before flying to Fiji when lockdown arrived. He was late returning when rugby resumed and was then ruled out with a knee injury and didn’t play again in 2020.
Asked if he was tempted to looktothefutureandexclude Nakarawa for the remainder of the season, Wilson replied: “I think Leone has had a long time out the game, that’s the first thing I would say. And any player who has been out the game for a long period of time needs a bit of time to get back into things.
“And I’m sure that Leone will bounce back to that type of form by getting more match-fit and through the knee and leg being more comfortable in games.
“He’s fit to play but we probably need to get him matchfit.
“At the same time, I understand what you are saying. He’s leaving and therefore we do need to make sure that we’ve got the right players getting development.
“You do want your experienced, quality rugby players out there to help develop and bring the youngsters through.
“We’ll see how the next few weeks go with that process.”
Wilson said he was impressed by teenager Brown in Dublin.
“He’s another young academy player, another exciting player for the future.
"At 19 years of age, playing away at the RDS, I thought he did some good things.
"He did make some mistakes, and we’re going to have to be patient with some of these young boys, but he did well.”