Covid testing problems hit Championship start
FALLEN giants Saracens are facing further frustration in their bid to win promotion back to the Premiership, with tier two Covid-19 testing protocols now proving to be the biggest hurdle in getting the Championship season underway.
Championship clubs have already agreed to postpone the start of their season until January 30 in order to facilitate friendly matches as players attempt to get up to speed after a ten-month hiatus.
However, Nottingham chairman Alistair Bow has revealed that RFU-designated protocols which will require elite competition players to be tested on
Monday mornings are proving a logistical nightmare, with many clubs unable to comply.
Clubs are gearing-up for warm-up fixtures in midJanuary, potentially against Premiership Ateams, in preparation for a truncated league campaign which is expected to consist of 16 matches before playoffs in June to decide the winners.
The 12 teams will be split into two pools of six based on last season’s finishing positions, with sides in each pool playing home and away and meeting teams in the other pool once, with the two pool winners playing a two-legged final.
However, Bow told The Rugby Paper: “We’ve got a big problem – and we’re not the only club – because we have a mixture of full and part-time players who train
at different times and we just can’t get everybody together on Mondays.
“Randox, the Covid testing company, have sent instructions that we have to do it on Monday mornings but it’s just not practical because we have players living two hours away, students in different places and guys on furlough who have found temporary work, which under the government scheme they are entitled to do. Putting all the financial issues or the Covid tier issues to one side, our biggest stumbling block now is getting the damned testing done.
“I’d like to start on January 30 but I can’t see how we can do it if we can’t get the testing sorted out – and over half the clubs in the Championship are in exactly the same boat with their part-time players.”
With nine of the 12 Championship clubs stymied in Covid Tier 3, only Cornish Pirates, Hartpury and Jersey will be allowed crowds unless restrictions are lifted and another burning issue surrounds the cost of Covid testing, which is £20,000-amonth per club.
Clubs are finally in receipt of claim forms which will enable them to access £9m of ‘winter survival’ funding which was pledged by the government on November 19 and is being administered by Sport England.
However, with much of that money earmarked as ‘loans’ clubs may be reluctant to saddle themselves with further, long-term debt.
While the RFU are desperate for the Championship season to commence, The Rugby Paper understands some clubs are considering the nuclear option of pulling out and mothballing in order to preserve funds ahead of making a fresh start in season 2021/22.
In that case, full-time clubs like Saracens, Ealing Trailfinders, Doncaster Knights, Cornish Pirates and Jersey Reds may have to go it alone in a further truncated season.