All rugby in England can go ahead this weekend following a decision taken by the RFU to play on despite the news of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing on Thursday evening.
Scottish Rugby and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) have postponed all games being played on their soil however, and neither of the Premiership games scheduled for Friday, Sale vs Northampton and Bristol vs Bath, will go ahead on that day.
Bristol vs Bath will take place on Saturday at 5:30pm, while Sale vs Northampton is on Sunday at 3pm.
For tiers below the Premiership, games will proceed as normal, with Coventry vs Bedford and Cornish Pirates vs Richmond both on this Friday night.
In a statement on the RFU website, the governing body justified its position by saying that the continuation of rugby was supported by clubs and could be used to bring people together, whilst urging clubs to come together.
It read: “The overwhelming opinions shared so far within the game, are that teams and supporters want to come together to honour Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to be united in our grief as we express sorrow at her passing.
“Rugby, at its heart, is about community and bringing people together, in good times and in sad. Rugby clubs are a source of strength and support during times of uncertainty, and we hope that by enabling games and other rugby activity to go ahead this weekend, with families and friends congregating it will help us all to unite at this time of national mourning.
“We strongly encourage all those playing sport this weekend to respectfully pay tribute to The Queen by holding a minute’s silence ahead of all fixtures this weekend. This an opportunity for teams from different areas to join together in honouring and celebrating her life.”
The replies to the above tweet sent about by National League Rugby were generally positive, although some have branded the move as “disrespectful” in other Tweets relating to the news.
And Scottish Rugby and the WRU have taken different approaches, with the former union announcing their decision last night and the latter confirming their position this afternoon.
Wales allowed Swansea to host Aberavon last night, a game which the visitors won 39-17, but eventually made the decision to postpone all other domestic rugby this weekend.
Their own statement read: “The Welsh Rugby Union is suspending all senior rugby matches in Wales this weekend as a mark of respect to the passing of Her Majesty The Queen.
“The suspension applies to all senior rugby scheduled to take place this weekend (9th/10th/11th September).
“The WRU is also fully supportive of decisions already taken by professional sides in Wales to cancel scheduled friendly fixtures.”
Those professional sides who have cancelled fixtures are Cardiff vs Zebre and Scarlets vs Dragons, with another pre-season clash involving URC teams, Glasgow Warriors vs Ulster, cancelled by virtue of Scottish Rugby’s decision.
Edinburgh’s game against Benetton will go ahead, however, with a minute’s silence to be observed and black armbands to be worn by the Edinburgh players in Treviso.
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