According to league officials: “Contingency-planning around the rescheduling of the Round 13 games – Zebre Rugby Club v Ospreys (14:00 local) and Benetton v Ulster (16:00 local) – are currently underway.

“The restrictions on public gatherings and sporting events put in place by the Italian authorities apply in the Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto regions and have already seen a Women’s Six Nations game and four Serie A football fixtures postponed over the weekend.”

They are not the only rugby matches to be postponed in the country. At the weekend, Italy women versus Scotland women was called off. Today, Benetton Treviso halted all women’s and junior rugby activities in the area. Fixtures in Italy’s national rugby championship, Top 12 have also been postponed ahead of this weekend.

Related: Round-up from the Women’s Six Nations

Pro14 continued in the official statement on their website: “To ensure the safety of our players and spectators PRO14 Rugby fully supports the preventative measures taken in Italy and will adhere to the directives from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and local authorities.

“The current restrictions are in place until Sunday, March 1, 2020 and PRO14 Rugby will remain in contact with the FIR (Italian Union), Zebre Rugby Club, Benetton Rugby and World Rugby to monitor situation on a daily basis.”

Zebre currently sit in sixth place in Pro14 Conference A after just two wins, while Benetton are also in sixth position in Conference B after four victories.

Benetton have already seen one fixture cancelled this season. Their Round 11 fixture against Dragons had to be rescheduled for March 6 after the original match was postponed ahead of it’s slot (February 15) due to severe weather conditions.

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