London (AFP)
Castres is eliminated from the European Challenge after being forced to forfeit his quarter-final against the English Leicester scheduled for Sunday due to the presence within him of four cases of Covid, said the organizer of the European rugby competitions on Saturday. (EPCR).
The French club have confirmed that four people, three players and a member of the management team, tested positive for Covid-19 before the team left for England, while the limit for the match to take place is of three, explained the EPCR, which asked Castres to withdraw.
Leicester joined in the last four Bristol and Bordeaux-Bègles, qualified on the ground.
This elimination by package is a first for professional rugby, undermined by the Covid-19 pandemic which resulted in the interruption of competitions for nearly six months in the northern hemisphere.
If the southern hemisphere has resumed earlier, it is in the form of national competitions in Australia and New Zealand, Super Rugby in its cross-border version having no prospect of recovery.
In Europe, the EPCR has changed the format of the 2020-2021 edition of its competitions (European Cup and Challenge) in order to be able to set the final phase of the 2019-2020 season at the start of autumn.
The very dense schedule making any postponement very complicated or even impossible, the teams affected by several cases of Covid-19 must withdraw.
The English championship also opted for a lost match on the green carpet (20-0) in this case but not the Top 14. The Stade Français, affected extensively by the coronavirus during its preparation, has thus already been able to benefit from a postponement. of his first match against Bordeaux-Bègles.
© 2020 AFP