Boxing day clash off after positive tests

NEWCASTLE’S home Gallagher Premiership match against Leicester on Boxing Day has been cancelled because of an outbreak of coronavirus at the Tigers.

Although only a small number of positives have been returned following Monday’s round of testing, the need for a large section of Leicester’s squad to selfisolate because of contact tracing means the game cannot go ahead.

A Premiership Rugby panel will now be convened to determine the allocation of points from the roundfour fixture.

Under new regulations brought in for the 2020-21 season, the decision will be made according to responsibility for the cancellation rather than fault, so two points will be awarded to the team that was responsible and four points to the team that was not.

“Our priority is the health and safety of everyone involved with Leicester and Newcastle and we will give the clubs any support they need,” a Premiership Rugby spokesperson said.

“Neither Premiership Rugby nor the club will be naming any of the players or staff involved and we’d ask everyone to respect their privacy.”

The news comes after four of last weekend’s 10 Champions Cup games were cancelled because of coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Bath are poised for an immediate return to action against London Irish on Saturday after their Champions Cup clash with La Rochelle was cancelled when 12 players were forced to self-isolate.

Unable to field a team due to the impact of close contact-tracing, the West Country club had a 28-0 defeat awarded against them as part of the domino effect of round-one opponents Scarlets returning a positive test for coronavirus.

Director of rugby Stuart Hooper insists disruption to training is now minimal as Bath look to reverse their poor start to the Gallagher Premiership season against Irish at the Recreation Ground.

“We are in training and are getting ourselves ready for Boxing Day,” Hooper said. “We have had our players in isolation. It was obviously a new situation and one we have not encountered before, but we got to the right point in the end.

“We have run a full training programme. On any given day we can adapt the training sessions pretty well.

All 12 Premiership clubs underwent the latest round of testing on Monday, with results due to be announced today.