GastroGate: Teams may have brought bugs with them
Irish province Ulster and Scottish outfit Glasgow Warriors may have brought the bugs with them that resulted in the postponement of their United Rugby Championship games in South Africa this past weekend because of a mass outbreak of “gastroenteritis infections”.
The Warriors were due to face Lions in Johannesburg, with Ulster scheduled to play the Sharks in Durban.
However, neither team was able to fulfil their commitments.
A URC statement at the weekend read: “Due to gastroenteritis infections it is not possible for Ulster or Glasgow Warriors to field full playing squads.
“In order to ensure a duty of care towards the players involved and given the medical advice received from all key stakeholders, the URC has made the decision to postpone the fixtures.
“The league will now move to examine potential dates to reschedule the games and will update in due course.”
URC CEO Martin Anayi said on Tuesday that it is “incredibly disappointing” for everybody concerned that the games were called off.
He spoke of the great lengths the Sharks went to, to put up a fan engagement show with their large number of Springboks – including World Cup winners Makazole Mapimpi, Siyamthanda Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth and Mbongeni Mbonambi.
They really invested in their fan zone,” the URC boss said.
Anayi confirmed that two viruses – E. coli and Norovirus – were found in tested samples, a fact first revealed by Ulster in a statement issued at the weekend..
Humans may be exposed to E. coli from contaminated water or food, while Norovirus – a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhoea – is also the result of consuming contaminated food and water.
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“We took medical advice and the reality is we had two very sick squads,” the CEO said of reports that 40-plus players in the Ulster squad and 30-plus from the Warriors touring party were out of commission.
He added there was ‘no opportunity’ to delay the games by 24 to 48 hours.
“The review is ongoing, but early indications – which is important – that there are two separate bugs,” Anayi said.
And then the real bombshell.
“There are some indications that they actually brought it with them,” the URC boss told a virtual round table gathering with the media.
“There is a lot to go into the medical review, which is ongoing.”
He said the URC rules state the games should be replayed, if possible.
A URC sporting committee will review the reports and should a suitable date not be found, will make a call on the allocation of points.
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