The quarantine imposed by the United Kingdom on arrival from France came into force on Saturday. Faced with the worsening health situation in France, the British Minister for Transport, Grant Shapps, has decided to impose 14 days of isolation on travelers arriving from the country. A decision that threatens the European Rugby Cup but also the test matches scheduled for November.
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The quarter-finals of the European Cups, rescheduled for September 19 and 20, concern six Top 14 clubs. If the clash between Clermont and Racing 92 at the Michelin Stadium, in the Champions Cup is not affected by this restriction, the meeting between Toulouse and the Northern Irish of Ulster (based in Belfast which belongs to the United Kingdom) could be compromised. In the Challenge Cup, three other French clubs are directly impacted: Castres which will be opposed to the English from Leicester, Toulon which will receive the Welsh from Llanelli and Bordeaux-Bègles which will host the Scots from Edinburgh.
Hence the concerns of Laurent Marti, the president of the UBB, in the columns of L'Equipe : “If the French government threatens reciprocity, Edinburgh will not be able to come. Fortunately, the possibility of derogation gives hope. Otherwise, it sounds the death knell for the European Cups this season. ”
Derogations for the Catalan Dragons
And Claude Atcher, representative of France on the Six Nations Committee, added, still in L'Equipe : "We must take this major risk very seriously, namely that there will be no Cup matches. 'Europe and, beyond, no test matches in the northern hemisphere in October and November. Unless the British nations exclude France from the planned competition! The matches against Italy and Japan are already scheduled but I don't see how, today, we can work on the format as planned. ” In addition to facing Japan, Scotland and Italy in November, Fabien Galthié's Blues should then play a classification match, surely against a British nation. They must also play, on October 31, their last match of the 2020 Six Nations Tournament against Ireland, canceled last March due to the health crisis.
However, exemptions seem to be possible. This was the case for the Catalan Dragons, who play in the Rugby League Super League. The latter were indeed authorized to play two matches in England: in Wakefield on August 15 and 22 and in Wigan on August 30. It remains to be seen whether it will be the same for the Top 14 clubs and for the XV of France. Bernard Laporte, president of the FFR, confided to L'Equipe : “We are going to adapt without alarmism to this new situation. I don't think the English government decided on this quarantine to harm rugby clubs. ”
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