England’s match is called off
BARBARIAN STARS BREACHED COVID PROTOCOLS BY GOING FOR A MEAL
ENGLAND’S match against the Barbarians tomorrow has been cancelled due to a breach in coronavirus protocols by Barbarians players, the Rugby Football Union has announced.
Seasoned veterans Chris Robshaw, Richard Wigglesworth and Sean Maitland were among a contingent of 12 who left the team hotel in central London on Wednesday night in order to have dinner.
The Barbarians were scrambling to fill the gaps in their squad before a deadline of 3pm set by the RFU, who are investigating the breach with a view to summoning any transgressors before an independent disciplinary hearing.
And after learning there was an additional breach of protocol on top of the incident already known, the governing body said it had no choice but to cancel the match, which was due to be played at Twickenham.
RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said: “We are incredibly disappointed to be calling a halt to this fixture, we know how much fans were looking forward to seeing the teams play.
“However, our priority is to protect the health and safety of the England squad and the other international teams they will go up against this autumn.
“There has been a great deal of effort put into Covid codes of conduct and planning for games, including co-operation with Premiership clubs to release additional players to fulfil the fixture safely, and we are all incredibly frustrated and disappointed that the actions of a number of Barbarians players mean we no longer feel it is safe for the game to go ahead.” Leicester Tigers players Ben Youngs, pictured, George Ford, Ellis Genge and Joe Heyes had been included in the England training squad as preparations for the Barbarians match and autumn internationals.
Ford has since withdrawn from the squad with an Achilles injury and could miss England’s final Six Nations match against Italy in Rome. In a statement about the Barbarians match being called off, the RFU said: “As part of its ongoing investigation into a breach of the Covid code of conduct that took place on October 21, the RFU has discovered there was an earlier undisclosed breach that took place on October 20 when a number of Barbarians players left the hotel bubble without permission and without informing organisers about their whereabouts,” an RFU statement read.
“The RFU has concluded that the players leaving their Covid-secure environment on October 20 without then isolating from the rest of the group on their return has resulted in the bubble environment being compromised, with the potential risk of Covid transmission from individuals outside the bubble to everyone in the Barbarians team and management. The RFU is therefore left with no alternative but to cancel the game.”