COVID-19 outbreak forces another Top 14 postponement

NEWS: An outbreak of COVID-19 at French club Castres forced the postponement on Friday of their game with Montpellier, the third of the weekend’s Top 14 fixtures to be called off or delayed.

“Tests carried out on Thursday revealed three new positive cases of COVID-19 within the Castres squad,” the club said in a statement.

Two weeks ago Castres were forced to forfeit their European Challenge quarterfinal at Leicester because of four cases.

Racing 92’s game at La Rochelle was called off on Thursday after “several cases” in the Parisian squad, just weeks before

Cases at Lyon have led to their game with Bordeaux-Begles, scheduled for Saturday, being postponed to Monday.

Bordeaux-Begles, who were top of the table when last season was abruptly halted, already have a match to make up after their opening game was postponed because Stade Francais, hit hard by coronavirus, were unable to field the required number of front-row players.

Under the French league protocol, a match must be postponed if three or more players at a club test positive for Covid-19 over a seven-day period.