Paris (AFP)
The Stade Français in isolation, training suspended in Montpellier: in a context of resurgence of Covid-19, alerts are increasing for the Top 14, less than a month from a resumption of the championship vital for survival clubs.
Irony of fate: saved from relegation by the coronavirus pandemic which led to the final interruption of the season, the Parisian club could be the main victim of the resumption, scheduled for September 4 after six long months without rugby in France.
After detecting several players positive for Covid-19 on their return from a training course in Nice, the club of businessman Hans-Peter Wild indicated on Monday evening the "deterioration" of the health situation in the workforce, the end of training and the placement in solitary confinement until August 17 at least for the entire workforce and staff.
Hard to imagine, under these conditions, that the team of manager Gonzalo Quesada, which has already canceled its first preparation match against Brive scheduled for August 14, is fully ready within 4 weeks to receive Bordeaux-Bègles at the opening of the season.
The capital club did not specify the number of positive cases and management did not respond to AFP's requests but according to L'Equipe, the cluster now extends to 25 club members ...
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However, the Covid protocol of the NRL provides for the moment that players who test positive remain in isolation for 14 days, before being able to resume collective training (phase 3) if a new test shows that they are no longer contagious.
Monday August 17 in the best case, the Parisian players tested negative will be able to resume the training in small separate groups (phase 2) ... "But these are things which can evolve according to our knowledge", commented for the 'AFP Bernard Dusfour, the president of the medical commission of a National Rugby League (LNR) who sails on sight.
"Do you want to know what we're going to do in 15 days? We don't know," he admitted, refusing to reveal the different scenarios in the event of new clusters over the next three weeks, punctuated by friendly matches.
"We do not have all the cards in hand," said the chief medical officer of French professional rugby as the resurgence of cases in Europe has led national and local authorities to step up their measures in the face of fear of a second wave .
For the players as for the reception of the public, the LNR indeed watches the decisions of the government, the regional health agencies (ARS) and the prefectures. The latter have in particular the power, at this stage, of derogation to increase or lower the gauge of 5,000 spectators in force until August 31. The ARS, for their part, can rule on a reduction or not of the health protocol in the clubs concerned.
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"The only place where we have the cards in hand is on barrier gestures, screening, the social life of everyone, including doctors, housekeepers," insists Dusfour who continues the crisis follow-up meetings.
The penultimate to date, Saturday, with the 30 professional clubs (Top 14 and Pro D2) made it possible to urgently act "a plan to raise awareness among their players, who must take responsibility when they are not in their club and restrict themselves to their contacts outside the family and club. It is a question of the good resumption or not of the championships, "warned the NRL.
The postponement of matches would be a new headache for the Top 14, at war with the Federation (FFR) on the number of matches of the XV of France in the fall (5 or 6 against 3 usually) and which must also deal with the postponed final phase of the European Cup in an already overloaded season.
The threat is however real, and not only for the Stade Français: Lyon announced on August 1 that there were 3 positive cases, which led to the cancellation of a training course, and Montpellier announced on Tuesday the suspension of collective training and the cancellation of the first preparation match, the companion of a player having been in contact with a person who tested positive.
Agen (Top 14), Provence Rugby and Soyaux-Angoulême (Pro D2) have also communicated on positive cases within their workforce ...
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