"Following a series of control tests provided for by the Covid-19 protocol of the NRL, the Rugby Club Toulonnais and Montpellier Hérault Rugby respectively requested the postponement of the matches (...) The NRL Competitions Committee met urgently today found that Rugby Club Toulonnais and Montpellier Hérault Rugby were indeed unable to play, "said the NRL in a statement.
Initially scheduled for Saturday, the trip from La Rochelle (5th, 36 pts) to Toulon (11th, 22 pts) had already been postponed by one day after the detection of "new positive cases" for Covid-19 within the RCT (11th , 22 pts), which had around 20.
According to the LNR press release, eight Toulon players would still have been in isolation at the time of the match and the Var club could not line up the six front row players required by the regulations.
The shock between Toulouse (2nd, 41 pts) and Montpellier (3rd, 40 pts) is also reprogrammed.
Toulouse winger Arthur Bonneval is tackled by English Montpellier flanker Zach Mercer during their Top 14 match on September 18, 2021 at GGL Stadium in Montpellier Sylvain THOMAS AFP / Archives
For the Hérault club, which could not count on six frontline players either, it is 17 players who were positive for Covid-19 and isolated at the time of the match.
In total, since the start of the season, nine teams have at least one game late, the RCT being the club most affected since the reception of Stade Rochelais is its third postponed game.
© 2022 AFP