The second day of the European Rugby Cup is scheduled to take place from Friday to Sunday. But Thursday morning’s government announcements have now cast doubt on its behaviour. Due to the spread of the Omicron version of COVID-19, France has formalized a change in rules for travelers to the United Kingdom. From Saturday a. it will be necessary to do “compelling reasons” To enter French territory from the United Kingdom as well as go the other way. This applies to everyone, the vaccinated as well as the unvaccinated. “Tourist or professional reasons will no longer allow you to visit”, is it specified in the official text.

It puts into question almost all posters for the weekend as La Rochelle and Clermont should go to England (for Bath and Sale, respectively), that Bordeaux-Begles 92 racing against the Scarlets during Toulouse and Stade is expected in Llanelli (Wales). . Français awaits teams from across the channel (England to Welsh Ospreys, Wasps and Bristol). “The EPCR is in contact with the French authorities to understand the new measures announced and to assess the impact on the second day’s matches”, told AFP just about the EPCR, the organizer of European rugby competitions.

Pau-Saracens already canceled

The announcements only add another degree of uncertainty to a competition that had to call off a match day (Bristol-Scarlets) and has seen more and more positive cases in recent days. In France, Montpellier announced a fifth positive Covid-19 case on Tuesday, forcing the Herrault club to adapt its training. In Ireland, Leinster again postponed their training session by 24 hours due to new positive cases.

Note that in the European Challenge, Pau-Saracens have already been cancelled, the London club’s workforce has been hit hard, while the meeting between Lyon and Newport (Wales) is one of the four positive cases from the French club. is accompanied by a question mark.