Club set for final verdict
COVID-HIT WASPS ‘ONE MORE POSITIVE TEST’ AWAY FROM LOSING SPOT IN PREMIERSHIP FINAL
WASPS’ place in the Gallagher Premiership final could be lost if they return one more positive Covid-19 test result.
The entire playing squad were tested yesterday in the final round of scheduled testing during the 2019/20 season. The results will be learned today and a decision made as to whether Wasps will tackle Exeter Chiefs in Saturday’s final.
Following seven positive tests from within the Wasps camp last week, which included four players, an extra round was ordered for the weekend. The results released on Monday concluded that four were positive, including three players.
However, the Coventry Telegraph understands two of those latest results were false positives.
The knock-on effect of the latest positive results, however, is understood to have an impact on head coach Lee Blackett’s ability to select a full-strength side should they be given the all clear to play at the weekend.
Wasps’ hopes of participating in the final that they reached through winning 12 of their last 13 games now hinges on the results of today’s round of testing.
It has been heavily rumoured that should Wasps return one more positive test for Covid-19, they would be forced to forfeit the match as they cannot prove they have controlled the virus - a likely requirement from Public Health England to fulfil the match.
Players and staff at Exeter Chiefs and Bristol Bears were are also both tested today with the results also due today. If both are not impacted by Covid-19 and Wasps forfeit, the winners of the Heineken Champions Cup and the European Challenge Cup will meet at Twickenham in the revised final.
Bristol Bears were placed on standby as early as last week when it was first revealed that Wasps had suffered an outbreak of the virus. This prompted director of rugby Pat Lam to postpone the Bears’ end-of-season party from Saturday to Monday. But following the latest developments at Wasps, Lam and his coaching team once more left the beers on ice and went as far as to select a squad and begin preparations if Wasps cannot fulfil the fixture.
Players who were due to leave Bristol and join up with the England and Wales camps have also been retained until the decision is made later on today.
Lam, in a hastily-arranged media session on Monday, said the Bears were ready to ‘flick the switch’ if the losing semi-finalists were given a reprieve and a shot at Premiership glory.
He said: “We ourselves have been put in a situation that isn’t ideal, but everything with Covid isn’t ideal, including the fact we’re waiting for the final to be played now at the end of the season we’ve had. If the goalposts get moved we adapt, we adjust and get going. “This is not ideal. We want Wasps and Exeter but the way the regulations are, it is easy for us to say ‘let’s go on holiday’, but this is what we signed up to do.”
Wasps have not trained since last Wednesday when the results were learned and further training sessions were cancelled. Those concerned were told to self-isolate along with their close contacts.
The Coventry Telegraph understands that despite the impact of coronavirus within the camp and the protocols that have been carried out, Blackett can still name a competitive 23-man squad for the final. But that situation could change if the latest round of testing delivers unfavourable results.