The spread of the coronavirus epidemic is sparing the sport. The match of the Six Nations Rugby Tournament between Ireland and Italy, scheduled for Saturday March 7 (3:15 p.m.) at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, has been postponed. The Irish Rugby Federation announced the news on Wednesday on its official website.
#shouldertoshoulder
Ireland's @SixNationsRugby matches v Italy are off.
We will immediately begin to work with our Six Nations partners to look at the possibility of rescheduling the matches and would hope to have an update on this in the coming days.https: //t.co/80ByyvOd3E
"All the matches of the Six Nations of Ireland against Italy (Editor's note: men, women and under 20) are postponed," said the press release. We will immediately work with the Six Nations to study the possibility of rescheduling these matches and hope to have something new in the coming days. No postponement date has yet been announced.
This decision follows a meeting with the Irish Department of Health. Tuesday, the Irish health authorities had recommended the cancellation of the meeting "for reasons of public health" and thus avoid accelerating the spread of the virus. The Irish Federation therefore decided to follow these recommendations.
The epidemic continues to grow in Italy. The north of the country is indeed one of the areas most affected by the Coronavirus. The other matches of the Six Nations Tournament are not threatened with postponement at present. But the question of maintaining the Italy-England meeting, scheduled for Saturday March 14 in Rome, could arise.
The coronavirus had already caused the postponement of the match of the Women's Tournament between Italy and Scotland, last Sunday in Legnano, near Milan. The next day, Zebre - Ospreys and Benetton - Ulster, initially scheduled for next weekend, had also been postponed to a later date, as were all the matches in the Italian championship (top 12).
