Toulouse, Lyon and La Rochelle were declared bonus winners (28-0) by forfeit for the 2e European Cup day, their opponents not being able to present a team for reasons of health security linked to Covid-19, the organizer decided on Friday. On the other hand, the EPCR (European Professional Club Rugby) has decided to postpone the match between the Scarlets, who have a player positive for the new coronavirus, and Toulon who refuses to play in Llanelli (Wales) for this reason.
In what was the most salivating poster of the weekend, spoiled by the pandemic with 4 out of 12 matches canceled or postponed, Toulouse is therefore full of points in the standings (5) against Exeter (0), like Lyon against Glasgow and La Rochelle against Bath. Before the start of the day on Friday, La Rochelle takes the lead in pool A (9 points) like Toulouse and Lyon in pool B (10). An excellent operation, without effort, for these three French clubs on their way to the quarter-finals.
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Scarlets-Toulon, a postponement rather than a cancellation
If the EPCR clarified the situation of these three matches by giving the loser, unsurprisingly, the clubs which “were not able to field a team due to the unavailability of many players placed in isolation” ( Glasgow and Bath) or having “several positive cases of Covid-19” (Exeter), the fate of Scarlets – Toulon is still unclear.
Toulon refused to play on Friday due to a positive case in the Welsh province, as the medical risk assessment committee found “the risk of further transmission had been contained”. But the organizer decided to postpone the meeting rather than cancel it, with no prospect of compromise with the Toulonnais or of a free date in an already very busy schedule.
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