A FINAL DECISION on whether Leinster’s Champions Cup clash with Montpellier will go ahead is expected to be reached tomorrow.
The game is set to take place this Friday night at GGL Stadium in Montpellier although both clubs have had Covid-19 outbreaks in their squads over the past week, leading to some concerns over the viability of the fixture.
At the time of writing, the game is still scheduled to proceed as planned. It’s understood that EPCR, the tournament organisers, met with both clubs virtually today to assess the situations within their squads.
Leinster reported four positive Covid cases in their set-up last Friday, with a further unconfirmed number announced yesterday. Meanwhile, Montpellier’s latest statement confirmed they had recorded five cases.
Leinster and Montpellier both have very large European squads registered with EPCR – 67 and 69 players, respectively – so there is lots of leeway in terms of player numbers.
Last weekend, Munster, Wasps, and Cardiff all completed Champions Cup fixtures despite missing players due to Covid.
However, it’s thought that Leinster and Montpellier are waiting for the results of their latest rounds of PCR testing as they continue to consider the situation.
Montpellier lost to Exeter last weekend in their first-round Champions Cup pool clash and they have three big Top 14 games to come over the festive period, which are believed to be their priority.
Leinster earned a bonus-point win against Bath last weekend, while they have three inter-provincial URC fixtures ahead in the coming weeks.
It’s thought that there may be some concerns in the Leinster set-up about the potential complications that could arise from travelling to France for the game and recording positive Covid cases over there.
Of course, another major issue is that rescheduling of these European fixtures is not an option with rugby’s calendar already jam-packed.
Any club who says they cannot fulfill a fixture in the Champions Cup will see the opposition handed a 28-0 bonus-point victory in that event.
Naturally, neither Leinster nor Montpellier are keen to lose out in that manner. Indeed, it almost appears that both clubs are waiting for the other to blink.
There does seem to be outside some hope that if both clubs are deemed to be unable to play, EPCR could call the game as a draw, with neither being seen as responsible for cancellation.
However, the game is still scheduled to go ahead as things stand.
It’s understood that Leinster cancelled their initial flight slot out of Dublin Airport tomorrow afternoon, but have rescheduled their journey for Friday morning – with the game set to kick-off at 9pm French time.
