Six Nations braced for postponement of England finale

Italy bans fans from sport events over coronavirus Empty Rome stadium would mean £5m blow

The Six Nations will today hold emergency talks at which they are likely to postpone England’s final match, against Italy in Rome, after the Italian government last night instructed that all sporting events must be played behind closed doors until at least April 3 because of the threat of the coronavirus.

The announcement came as the death toll in Italy rose to 109, with 28 fatalities coming in 24 hours, as prime minister Giuseppe Conte said the country’s health service risked being overwhelmed.

A government statement read: “There will be no sporting events with the presence of the public in order to prevent further contagion opportunities. Sports events and competitions of all kinds and disciplines, held in every place, both public and private, are suspended; however it is permitted to carry out the aforementioned events and competitions behind closed doors, or outdoors without the presence of the public.

“In all such cases, the associations and sports clubs, by means of their medical staff, are required to carry out the appropriate checks to contain the risk of spreading the Covid-19 virus among athletes, technicians, managers and all accompanying persons who participate.”

More than 3,000 cases of the virus have been reported in Italy, Europe’s most serious outbreak, and their government has closed all schools and universities until March 15 in a bid to limit the spread.

The move to impose a restriction on all sporting events left the Six Nations with a difficult decision, with more than 20,000 England fans due to travel to Rome for the championship finale on March 14.

However, supporters had already begun cancelling trips to the Italian capital, given their own fears about the outbreak, even though travel insurance claims would be reliant on government direction.

Ireland’s match against Italy in Dublin has already been postponed and the indications last night were that England’s match is also likely to be played at a later date rather than behind closed doors, given the loss of ticket revenue and corporate hospitality sales, which will be worth over £5million to the Italian Rugby Federation. France’s final match against Ireland in Paris is also in doubt. However it is understood there is currently no threat to England’s match against Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.

The challenge facing the Six Nations now is finding dates for any outstanding games to be replayed, with the fixture schedule leaving little room for manoeuvre given the impact of the World Cup in Japan last October and November.

The Six Nations council meet in Paris on Monday to consider contingency plans should any more games be affected by the outbreak.

ITV, which is due to broadcast England’s match against Italy has already opted not to send its staff and pundits to Rome because of coronavirus fears, and instead will run its broadcast from BT Sport’s studios in Stratford, east London if the game is played. It is understood that the BBC is also not planning not to send any staff, with the Italian govern regular ment’s directive likely to limit the number of reporters who can cover the game, should it go ahead.

England have confirmed that if the game does happen Mako Vunipola, the Saracens prop, will not be involved, despite the fact that his club have declared he is available to face Leicester on Saturday.

England said yesterday they were taking precautionary measures against the virus beyond government recommendations, which resulted in Vunipola being excluded from the squad after flying back from Tonga via Hong Kong, despite showing no symptoms.

England’s decision was called into question when Saracens announced that Vunipola had returned to training with the club.

Vunipola was visiting Tonga with his younger brother Billy for unspecified personal reasons, but both are now back in north London.

“Neither Billy or Mako have displayed symptoms of the coronavirus and on their return to London were assessed by the club’s medical staff,” said a Saracens statement. “The duo have been around the Saracens environment for the past couple of days, with the latter available for selection this weekend.

“Travellers returning from Hong Kong are not currently subject to mandatory quarantine or self-isolation unless they become symptomatic.”

England said that the decision, was taken on the advice of England’s head of medicine Dr Simon Kemp and their new team doctor Richard Tingay

“Mako didn’t come into camp on the advice of our medical team, who looked into the situation closely and as a precaution advised us that the best thing for our environment was for him not to come in,” said Steve Borthwick, England’s assistant coach.

Eddie Jones, the England head coach who names his team today, is expected to hand a return to the starting XV to face Wales to Anthony Watson, who is fit again after a calf injury. The Bath player was under consideration to start on the wing in place of Jonathan Joseph.