Bath Rugby have confirmed that they will only fulfil Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup fixture against La Rochelle if French travel restrictions are eased.
Director of rugby Stuart Hooper is still waiting for clarity from tournament organisers EPCR over when they can depart for the Stade Marcel Deflandre and what Covid safety procedures they will face.
Upon arrival in France – Bath, Sale and Newcastle players will have to quarentine for 48 hours. Anyone who tests positive during this isolation period, would have to remain in self-isolation for 10 days before returning home.
Following the United Rugby Championships messy November and December, when Cardiff, Munster and Scarlets players were stranded in South Africa, Hooper has said that we will not take the risk of players and staff being left behind in a separate country.
Hooper said: “For us it’s more about the testing in country. If you have to isolate for 48 hours it’s because you have to test out of it, or stay isolating for 10 days.
“That’s absolutely not a condition by which we’d travel to France, as you can be stuck there.
“It’s really important you don’t look too far ahead, but at the same time you also have to understand what it would mean for the players who might get stuck in France. We don’t know what that would look like yet.
“If we all travel over together and someone tests positive, are we all close contacts? Are we then all in a hotel with 40 people together for 10 days? That’s a hurdle that definitely needs to be got over very quickly.
“You have seen how that’s been a problem for other teams in other competitions. That’s a big part of the discussions with EPCR.
“We still don’t have absolute clarity on what we have to do. We hope to hear very soon about what’s required. I know EPCR are working hard on it.”
Bath have planned to fly to France on Friday and return after the game on Saturday evening. The Ligue Nationale de Rugby is negotiating with the French government – who have refused to budge on many quarantine requirements with British nationals in recent months.
“It is hoped that the matches in rounds three and four will be played in more favourable conditions and EPCR expects an update on the situation shortly,” an EPCR statement read.
With arrangements going down to the wire, European rugby continues to be shrouded in uncertainty.
French clubs in similar predicament
French clubs are facing similar issues, as Stade Francais, Racing 92 and Toulouse travel to play British opposition this weekend. Currently, these teams will have to quarantine on their return to France.
Toulouse, Racing 92 and Stade Francais all travel to face British opposition this weekend, but the capacity to quarantine in their own country removes a complication faced by UK teams heading in the opposite direction.
Pat Lam‘s Bristol face Stade Francais on Saturday. He said: “We’re told it’s going ahead and we’ve prepared for it to go ahead, but one thing I know about Covid is that you can’t 100 per cent guarantee anything,” Lam said.
“I said to the boys ‘be prepared’, but until I see them at the ground, that’s when I’ll know the game is going ahead.
The commerical impact of late cancellations is the cost of hosting a matchday. Refunding all tickets holders, whilst paying staff and paying for hospitality refreshments is a huge cost.
Lam understood the impact of cancellation on Bristol as a club, saying: “We we were pushing last week to get an answer because to run a game costs a lot of money, you’ve got to order hospitality on Monday. It would be over £200,000 if the game didn’t go ahead.”
