PRO14 and Top 14 revised fixtures amid European postponements
REACTION: PRO14 and the Top 14 in France have announced a raft of rescheduled league fixtures after it was confirmed that this month’s planned two rounds of European matches have been postponed.
Whereas the Premiership have opted to take a two-week rest, the other two main leagues in Europe have taken action to ensure the coming two weekends are not left idle.
A statement from PROP14 said: “We can confirm that the round nine Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh and Munster v Leinster fixtures have been rescheduled and will take place in the coming weekends. PRO14 Rugby is grateful to each of its stakeholders for their flexibility and cooperation in rearranging these fixtures.”
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Glasgow will host Edinburgh at Scotstoun this Saturday while Munster welcome Leinster to Limerick on January 23.
This Irish match was originally due to take place on December 26 but was called off at the time due to concerns over the pandemic. It could well be a dress rehearsal for the March final as Munster comfortably top their conference while Leinster have a number of spare matches to catch Ulster in the other conference.
In France, Ligue Nationale de Rugby officials have decided to reschedule round 19 of the Top 14. Initially planned for the weekend of March 20, the closing weekend of the Six Nations, the matches will now be played on the weekend of January 23 so that the France Test players can be involved.
French officials had already rescheduled four matches for this weekend. Bordeaux v Clermont and Bayonne v Pau have been fixed for Saturday, with games featuring Montpellier-Castres and Racing-Toulon pencilled in for Sunday.
Four matches have also been rescheduled for the weekend of February 6: Montpellier v Stade Francais, Clermont v Lyon, Castres v Bayonne and Racing v La Rochelle. The game between Toulon and Bayonne will now take place on the weekend of February 27.
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