It just needed an official act.
It arrived in the form of a missive.
The EPCR, the organizer of the European Cup, has been informed of the wish of the French authorities and approved the suspension of the next two weekends devoted to its competition.
This Monday afternoon, the government asked the National Rugby League (LNR), which brings together the Top 14 clubs, "to postpone their participation in European Cup matches at least until early February, at the both for matches organized in France and those taking place on British and Irish soil, ”according to a letter we consulted.
"The government wishes as a priority to fight against all the risks of introduction of more contagious variants of the virus and their circulation on the national territory, it will consequently take all the necessary decisions during the course of the week to set the framework of the imposed restrictions", is it still written.
This Saturday, the Ministry of Sports had already approached the LNR in order to study the current health protocols decreed by the EPCR and had clearly indicated its wish to avoid the risks associated with these meetings while the situation is out of control in Great Britain and deteriorating in France.
Upon receipt of the letter, the League forwarded the request to the organizer of the European Cup, who ruled immediately.
For the moment, there does not seem to be any question of canceling the competition.
The calendar is not extendable, however, it will have to choose between several scenarios to complete it.
Either play these two days instead of the quarter-finals back and forth and go directly to the semi-finals.
Or, as imagined by some club presidents, now qualify 16 teams for the eighths then the quarters, the semi-finals and the final.
The Six Nations Tournament threatened
The National League, for its part, has planned to fix late Top 14 matches the next weekend: Bordeaux-Bègles - Clermont (this Saturday at 3.15 p.m.), Bayonne-Pau (this Saturday at 9 p.m.), Montpellier- Castres (this Sunday at 2:45 p.m.) and Racing-Toulon (Sunday at 9:5 p.m.).
According to our information, the following weekend will be devoted to an entire advanced day, the one which was to act as a duplicate with France-Wales, on March 20.
This would make it possible to keep this date in joker in the event of further postponements.
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The European Cup is not the only one to be threatened by the virus.
A first meeting initiated by the Ministry of Sports will take place this Tuesday regarding the Six Nations Tournament, which is due to start on February 6 with Italy-France.
Sunday, the president of the French Federation Bernard Laporte tried to be confident that the event will be held in its current format, but he does not have the cards in hand.
