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England’s fall campaign was thrown into chaos on Friday after Sunday’s opening game against the Barbarians was canceled after several players broke strict Covid-19 protocols.
The Rugby Football Union launched an urgent review after news broke Thursday that 12 Barbarians players had left the team’s hotel to visit a London restaurant. Former England captain Chris Robshaw, Richard Wigglesworth and Tom de Glanville were among the players who were subsequently sent home when the matter was discovered. The RFU canceled the match after learning that there was an additional breach of protocol in addition to the already known incident.
“As part of its ongoing investigation into a violation of the Covid code of conduct that took place on October 21, the RFU discovered that there was a previous undisclosed violation that took place on October 20 when several Barbarians players left the bubble. from the hotel without permission and without informing the organizers of his whereabouts, ”said a statement from the RFU.
“The RFU has concluded that players who left their safe environment from Covid on October 20 without later isolating themselves from the rest of the group upon their return, has caused the bubble environment to be compromised, with potential risk transmission rate of people outside the bubble. to everyone on the Barbarians team and leadership. Therefore, the RFU has no alternative but to cancel the game. “
RFU Executive Director Bill Sweeney expressed frustration at the Barbarians players whose conduct resulted in the cancellation of England’s fall curtain opening, a warm-up for the critical Six Nations final against Italy on Saturday. “We are incredibly disappointed to have to stop this game, we know how much the fans expected to see the teams play,” Sweeney said. “However, our priority is to protect the health and safety of the England team and the other international teams they will face this autumn.
“A lot of effort has gone into Covid codes of conduct and game planning, including cooperating with Premiership clubs to free up additional players to safely comply with the match, and we are all incredibly frustrated and disappointed that the actions of various Barbarians players mean that we no longer feel it is safe for the game to go forward. “
