THE SIX NATIONS organisers have issued a statement backing the Irish government’s stance to call off Saturday week’s game against Italy.

The body also confirmed that the remaining five matches in the championship – including Ireland’s game in Paris and Italy’s home match against England in Rome – are, at this stage, to go ahead as scheduled.

However, they made it clear they will accept governmental advice and adjust their plans accordingly if a request is made to make another postponement.

Their statement read: “Six Nations notes the formal instruction provided to the IRFU today by the Irish National Public Health Emergency team, which states that the upcoming series of Championship matches between Ireland and Italy over the weekend of 6/8 March should not proceed.

“We are fully supportive of any preventative measures taken in the interests of overall Public Health in relation to the Coronavirus and we will respect instructions provided by Government authorities and health organisations. Six Nations also continues to liaise with its medical advisory group.

“We will be holding further discussions with all six Unions with respect to the rescheduling options for all the affected games, factoring in the current dynamic situation.

“All other matches are currently scheduled to go ahead as normal. We will continue to monitor the situation very closely with all Unions and the respective Government authorities and health organisations.”