NOW VIRUS SCARE AFFECTS EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW

One Edinburgh player and two from Glasgow isolating as Cockerill reveals his virus scare

FOR Scotland’s clubs t he Pro14 begins today, but i f they thought they would be able to focus fully on the rugby and what this season may have in store for them on the field of play, they were swiftly disabused of that notion yesterday.

Edinburgh will be without Jamie Ritchie tonight as they face the Ospreys after electing to err on the side of caution and make the Scotland flanker self-isolate, while Glasgow Warriors face Connacht without Zander Fagerson and Tom Gordon for similar reasons. None of the players have tested positive for Covid-19.

Yet the reality of the situation is something Scottish Rugby is taking seriously, especially after Edinburgh’s embarrassing breach by members of their academy ahead of the recent trip to Bordeaux. And Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill also revealed he had to self-isolate for a day last week while he anxiously waited to find out if his son had tested positive.

‘My son had a temperature of 38 on Monday, so I was not at training on Tuesday,’ he said after naming his side for tonight’s clash at BT Murrayfield. ‘We took him for a test and thankfully it came back negative, so I was back in on Wednesday.

‘I am the head coach and want to be here, but not to the detriment of the team. We all have a responsibility and the rules apply to everybody.

‘There are guidelines you have to abide by and if that takes you out for a day, or a week, or two weeks, then we just have to get on with it. If we all think that the rules don’t apply to us, then we’ll all end up in a place we don’t want to be.’

Cockerill made it clear that he would not tolerate anyone breaking Covid-19 rules and had disciplined four of his young players — one of whom was diagnosed with Covid-19 — after they attended a house party.

‘It is an internal matter, but I can assure you those players have been dealt with appropriately,’ he said.

‘If you are going to be in this professional environment you have to take the rules very seriously.’

Cockerill said an example of how seriously Edinburgh took Covid-19 guidelines was the way they had decided not to pick Ritchie against the Ospreys even though he had not tested positive for the virus.

‘A member of Jamie’s family has had contact with a potential positive case,’ said Cockerill. ‘Depending on whether it’s a direct contact, or a contact of a contact, affects the length of time you have to isolate.

‘Jamie is a good professional and this is nothing to do with how he has conducted himself. It is purely bad luck and he went into isolation at the beginning of this week and could be back for our next game.

‘The likelihood is he has nothing wrong with him, but we don’t want to take that risk. We are being cautious for obvious reasons, otherwise you take out half-a-dozen players.’

Warriors head coach Danny Wilson confirmed that neither Fagerson or Gordon were ill or had Covid-19, but had been taken out of the Connacht game as a precaution.

‘In this case, it could be a contact of a contact scenario, which has meant they have to isolate for that 14-day period,’ said Wilson.

‘We’re all expecting more and more of that unfortunately. The risk is always going to be there. While the numbers have grown quite considerably i n Glasgow, we’re probably substantially at risk when boys live in the city.

‘I don’t want to give too much away to the Scarlets, who we play next, on where we are with those situations, for obvious reasons, but let’s put it this way, Tom started that process earlier than Zander.

‘Things can change overnight. That’s part of the challenge for us and everyone else. Whoever deals with this extra challenge the best is going to have the most success. We’ll see team selections at certain points this season where you think: “Where has that one come from?”

Glasgow welcome back Richie Gray to the bench for today’s trip after he missed the derby match against Edinburgh f ollowing a similar Covid-19 scare when he came into contact with a family member who it was feared had come in contact with someone who may have had the virus.

‘Richie’s situation came close to the game and there was a period that he had to wait and go through, but the protocols at the time were different to what they are in Glasgow at the moment — as we know, these things change quite quickly,’ said Wilson.

‘We follow them strictly, tightly, to protect the rest of the squad and protect Glasgow. It is what it is, and we’ve got to get on with it.

‘It’s a very different challenge, like it is for Cockers, and is going to be for us. When you get those scenarios quite late, you’ve got to respond to them the best you can.’