Postponed European matches now cancelled

The seven European matches postponed in December due to Covid travel restrictions have now been cancelled.

Five second-round European Champions Cup and two Challenge Cup matches were called off last month after the French government brought in rules that restricted travel from the UK.

The matches affected were Bath v La Rochelle, Sale v Clermont, Scarlets v Bordeaux-Begles, Stade Francais v Bristol and Toulouse v Wasps in the Champions Cup as well as London Irish v Brive and Worcester v Biarritz in the second-tier tournament.

These matches were due to be rescheduled but tournament organisers EPCR have now decided to cancel them because there is no room in the calendar to rearrange them. All results have been recorded as 0-0 draws, with two match points awarded to each club.

An EPCR statement read: “The Board and the Executive have been guided by input from the deliberations of the EPCR Sporting and Tournaments Committee, which like the EPCR Board is made up of representatives of the URC, PRL and Top 14 leagues.

“The round two matches were initially postponed following the unforeseen introduction of new travel measures between the UK and France, which resulted in EPCR being unable to obtain assurances that existing cross-border travel exemptions for players, club staff and match officials would remain in place.

“The options of modifying the tournament formats and/or rescheduling the matches were deliberated in great detail by all parties, however, in an increasingly complex fixture calendar due to Covid-19, it was regrettably decided that the only choice in the circumstances was to cancel the matches.

“The Board then considered how the seven matches should be accounted for in the standings of the tournaments and it was satisfied that the correct approach was for the EPCR Executive to apply the Match Result Resolution Matrix as set out in the 2021-22 Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup Participation Agreement.

“On the basis that none of the clubs involved were in a position to play once the EPCR Board had postponed the seven matches due to the new restrictive travel measures, the only option open to the EPCR Executive under the provisions of the Match Result Resolution Matrix was to record the results as 0-0 draws and to award two match points to each club.”

Round three and four matches are due to take place over the next two weekends, although English clubs who are travelling to France for fixtures are awaiting news on whether they will be exempt from 48-hour quarantine requirements.

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