Premiership Rugby clubs face tighter Covid restrictions amid Omicron surge
Premiership clubs are facing tighter Covid-19 restrictions in light of the spread of the Omicron variant with new measures expected to be finalised this week.
As of September, clubs have been permitted to relax restrictions and effectively abandon social-distancing measures during training and on matchdays provided they meet the 85% threshold of players and staff having received two vaccinations.
It is understood, however, that the Professional Game Board is expected to implement updated measures after the health secretary, Sajid Javid, revealed on Monday that the Omicron variant already makes up 20% of all Covid-19 cases in England.
That in turn raises the possibility of Eddie Jones’s England squad facing tighter measures when they convene next month for the 2022 Six Nations.
Bubble fatigue was cited by numerous players as a key reason for England’s dismal fifth-place finish. It was also referenced in the Rugby Football
Union’s subsequent review. “The necessary stringent protocols, in some cases greater than other unions, had a significant impact on coaching and support staff as well as the playing squad cohesion,” read the union’s statement last April.
In the shorter term the hope will be to avoid a repeat of last season, when 10 Premiership matches were cancelled because of Covid outbreaks and a twoweek “circuit-breaker” was introduced in January after two rounds of European fixtures were wiped out. The second round of the Champions Cup is this weekend but a number of clubs are already dealing with outbreaks.
Wasps lost their opening match against Munster – who were also badly affected by the pandemic – having been forced to make wholesale changes to their side following a number of positive tests last week. After the match the Wasps director of rugby, Lee Blackett, who is also without a raft of players because of injury, conceded he did not know whether the fixture against Toulouse on Sunday would go ahead with the results of this week’s Covid tests set to prove decisive.
In addition, Leinster opted on Monday to postpone training after they were hit with an outbreak on Friday, 24 hours before their comfortable win against Bath. To compound matters for the tournament organisers, who have already seen the Scarlets forfeit their trip to Bristol last Saturday, Montpellier – Leinster’s opponents on Friday – have also registered a handful of positive cases. Clermont, La Rochelle, Northampton and Cardiff have all also been affected.