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Sale’s game against Worcester at AJ Bell Stadium on Sunday will not continue after 16 Sharks players tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday. Premiership Rugby officials are meeting to decide if the game can be played early next week.
They are also looking at whether the other five games can go ahead as scheduled in the final round of the Premiership regular season, a week before the scheduled play-off date.
Only four teams announced their sides at 12pm on Saturday. Among them were Leicester and Harlequins, who meet at Welford Road, and London Irish, who face the play-off chasing Bristol at the Stoop. The Bears said they had not seen positive tests last week.
Worcester then named its team and issued a statement saying the club was awaiting confirmation that Covid protocols and procedures would be followed and that there would be no risk to the health of its players.
The Gloucester-Northampton game at Kingsholm is also in doubt because the Saints played Sale on Tuesday night.
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Under the rules set by Premiership Rugby after the season resumes in August, if a match is canceled because the players or club staff have not followed the protocols, the opposition will win a victory with bonus points. If it is due to local restrictions, a 0-0 tie is recorded.
Premiership Rugby is eager for the round to be completed, with the Wasps, Bath, Sale and Bristol vying to join Exeter in the play-offs, but stated categorically before the relaunch that there would be no postponements due to time constraints.
