Update on France v Scotland match
NEWS: The delayed Six Nations international between France and Scotland in Paris will be played on March 26, tournament organisers said Thursday.
Originally scheduled for February 28, the third-round fixture was postponed after France recorded 16 positive Covid-19 cases among their set-up.
A brief Six Nations statement revealed that the rescheduled France v Scotland fixture will occur on Friday, March 26 at Stade de France.
That means both France and Scotland will play three Six Nations matches in as many weeks.
But as the new date falls outside the tournament’s designated ‘window’, clubs are not obliged to release players, as would have been the case had the match gone ahead as scheduled.
That could pose a problem for Scotland given that both captain Stuart Hogg and lock Jonny Gray play for English Premiership and European champions Exeter.
A Six Nations spokesperson told AFP that talks between the Scottish Rugby Union and the Premiership over player release were still ongoing.
France’s Top 14 clubs are expected to allow their Les Bleus stars to play in the game, although it is not yet clear whether Paris-based Racing 92 will make Scotland star Finn Russell available.
Russell has been ruled out of Scotland’s match against Italy at Murrayfield on Saturday with concussion suffered in last week’s 27-24 loss to Ireland.
France are also in action on Saturday – originally the final day of the 2021 Six Nations – when they will try to deny Wales a Grand Slam in Paris and maintain their own title hopes.
