FRENCH LEAVE

France might be kicked out of the Six Nations by their OWN government

THE Six Nations could be plunged into more chaos after the French Government threatened to kick their own team out of this year’s tournament amid allegations they have breached Covid protocols.

A total of 16 people in the French camp, across the playing squad and coaching staff, have tested positive for coronavirus over the past fortnight.

The outbreak of the virus ultimately led to the proposed clash with Scotland at the Stade de France this afternoon being called off, with a new date yet to be confirmed.

But the French Government have now intervened, with Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu threatening to pull the plug on their team’s involvement in this season’s championship.

Maracineanu has demanded answers from the French Rugby Federation as to how the virus was initially brought into their bubble, and then subsequently allowed to spiral out of control.

If answers are not forthcoming or prove to be

unsatisfactory, she has made clear that the French Government will step in and deal with the matter accordingly.

Claiming that players may have abused the privileges afforded to them, Maracineanu (pictured) said: ‘We asked for an investigation from the FFR and from (president) Bernard Laporte.

‘He came to see us before the tournament to present the protocol and tell us that everything was going to go well, that the bubble was going to be strictly respected with controlled entries and exits.

‘Now that we can see that this is not the case, I am waiting for him to come and explain to us what has happened.

‘If nothing happens, if we don’t look into this chain of contaminations and they don’t explain to us how it could happen, then the authorisation that has been given (to play in the Six Nations) can be withdrawn.’

A travel ban was imposed in France last month which prohibits any journeys to and from non-EU countries.

The French rugby team were afforded special dispensation, however, in order to facilitate their involvement in the Six Nations.

But Maracineanu has now warned that it could be revoked, saying: ‘At the Sports Ministry, we have allowed players to travel and also to train under certain conditions.

‘We have given authorisation, but we can also withdraw this authorisation.

‘Where I am worried is that we made an exception for athletes, for an organisation and I was very keen on it.

‘They committed to a certain protocol and when they are committed, it is not only for rugby.

‘It is also for the rest of the sport, for the rest of the tournaments which are held elsewhere, that we must all collectively be responsible.

‘Then when there are mistakes, you have to take responsibility for your mistakes.’

The identity of ‘patient zero’ within the French camp has never been properly established.

It had been thought initially that the root of the problem may have stemmed from a training session which saw the senior team mix with the Sevens squad prior to facing Ireland on February 14.

The focus then turned to a fitness coach in the backroom staff, before head coach Fabien Galthie was suspected of being ‘patient zero’ himself.

Galthie tested positive on February 16, two days after the

Ireland game and just 24 hours after he and star scrum-half Antoine Dupont were pictured in close contact together at an awards ceremony, with neither of them wearing a face mask.

Dupont tested positive later that week, although Laporte and the French Federation have strenuously denied that Galthie was the one who broke the bubble.

There are also claims that several players left the bubble whilst in Rome for the opening game against Italy and were spotted at nearby eateries.

‘I don’t think it was written in the protocol that the players could go out to eat waffles,’ said Maracineanu. ‘If they went out to eat waffles, they had to be re-tested when they re-entered the bubble.

‘We want to know if this has been done because it is the conditions of re-entering and exiting the bubble that make it a bubble, by definition.’

Meanwhile, a decision will be made over the next week on when to reschedule the match between Scotland and France, so long as Les Bleus are still able to compete in the tournament.

Reports in France have suggested that Friday, March 26 is a possible date, which is the weekend after the tournament is originally scheduled to finish. Sportsmail understands, however, that it does not have the support of the SRU at this stage and that talks remain ongoing with all relevant parties.

With the complications around Regulation Nine and player release, Scotland will vehemently oppose any date that would deny them of their strongest squad.

Exeter Chiefs are scheduled to be playing Gloucester in the English Premiership on the evening of March 26, so Scotland would almost certainly be without captain Stuart Hogg.

Similarly, Finn Russell would likely be in Paris with Racing 92 as they prepare to face Bayonne in the Top14 the following day.

Given that the match has been postponed through no fault of their own, it would be hugely unfair on the Scots if they were forced to play under such circumstances.

There have already been calls for the French to forfeit the game and a 28-0 win be awarded to Scotland, if France are found conclusively to have breached Covid protocols.

There have also been dates suggested in July with regards to the rescheduling of the game, but those would clash with the Lions tour which Hogg and Russell will be part of, along with any other Scots who make it into Warren Gatland’s squad.

IT is a question that has got armchair rugby fans talking and more than a bit worried. Will the next Six Nations — the jewel in the crown of rugby competitions — go behind a paywall? Will they have to fork out even more money to see the likes of Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell in action in next year’s tournament?

It was always assumed that cash-rich Sky or Amazon Prime would be able to outbid terrestrial channels like the BBC and ITV for live rights to the tournament but SRU chief executive Mark Dodson — who is close to the negotiations as part of the Six Nations committee — doesn’t think it is a foregone conclusion that the tournament will go behind the paywall.

‘There’s a bit of supposition going on there,’ he said. ‘If you look at the tender that will go out, I think we’ll be really happy. We’ve got interest from everyone: terrestrial, traditional pay TV and a wider new group of broadcasters. People from right across the spectrum are interested and we’re in a very good place.

‘I’m optimistic and I don’t necessarily think that going behind a paywall is the likely favoured option. We have to wait and see what happens, look at how not only the money comes through but also what the coverage looks like and how accessible it is.

‘Terrestrial TV gives us an incredible reach that is hard to achieve elsewhere but equally, we’ve now got people who are prepared to pay material amounts of money for what is the best tournament in the world. Despite Covid, despite all the issues we’ve had, we’ve got huge amounts of interest in our game.’

Dodson revealed that he was attempting to ‘future-proof’ the Scottish game with incoming cash from future television deals — including the new Six Nations one that is currently being bid for — plus £80million coming from private equity firm, CVC, who have bought a stake in the Six Nations and also the Pro14. The SRU’s share of that cash is £50m and £30m respectively.

A £15m grant and a £5m low-interest loan received from the Scottish Government has meant the SRU has not had to make any redundancies during the pandemic and are financially stable at this moment.

Dodson said that, in the long-term, the 67,144 capacity BT Murrayfield is set for a major revamp using some of the £80m cash injection from CVC. He said the renovation was much needed as the stadium had ‘a lot of catching up to do’ to match the facilities at rival arenas such as Twickenham.

‘The CVC money will be spent across the whole business,’ he said. ‘For example, the community game and BT Murrayfield, which is a massive stadium, costs a lot of money and always needs to be renewed and improved.

‘If you look at the comparisons, Twickenham, the Principality, the Aviva, the Stade de France, these are terrific stadiums and some of the football stadiums that have been built as well, so we’ve got some catching up to do.’

Murrayfield had its last major revamp back in 1994 when floodlights were installed for the first time as part of a £50m renovation programme. Dodson didn’t say how much cash would be spent, what specific improvements will be carried out or give a timescale but it is all part of his plan to create a much-improved set-up in and around the national stadium.

Already there has been a new £5.7m, 7,800 capacity ‘Mini-Murrayfield’, which will be home to Edinburgh Rugby, located on the back pitches, although games will not be hosted there until Covid restrictions are eased to allow fan entry.

‘The (CVC) deal we did on Pro14, and if the deal on Six Nations comes through, will be absolutely transformational for the union,’ said Dodson (right). ‘That’s why we have to be very careful about how the money is spent. It has to be spent on things that will futureproof the game.

‘How we spend this money will define the union’s future, to some extent. If you spend it badly, it’s frittered away or there are no outcomes to the expenditure, then more fool us. We’ve got to make sure we spend it in the most appropriate way and in a way that takes Scottish rugby forward as a whole, not just one part.’

When it comes to player recruitment, the SRU chief executive made clear the first priority was to bring in Scottishqualified players to Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors then look overseas for others — but he believes the correct balance needs to be struck.

‘We’re supplying the pro teams with more and more Scottish-qualified talent,’ he said. ‘The depth we’ve got in the national team now is as deep as it’s ever been. There’s always that balance between bringing foreign players in who will be there all the time in key positions and bringing through young talent who can drive forward a career in Scotland.

‘We’re trying to sign Scottish-qualified talent all the time. Our Scottishqualified percentages are really high in both squads. They may not have come through the Scottish system, but they’ve come through a Scottish-qualfied process and I don’t mean project players, I am talking about players with Scottish ancestry.

‘We’ve got more sophisticated in how we’ve approached our scouting system and we’re now delivering players who want to join us as that’s also important.

‘We’re going to work really hard with Pro14 to make sure there’s not as much overlap in international periods, because that’s what kills us as Edinburgh and Glasgow have so many players away with the Scotland national team. ‘The less overlap we have in the autumn and during the Six Nations, the better and stronger out teams will be.’