Will the Tournament take place this winter?
The progression of the Covid-19 pandemic in France and especially in Great Britain and Ireland seriously threatens the competition, already pushed to its limits.
This Tuesday morning, a meeting between the Ministry of Sports and the French Rugby Federation (FFR), which aimed to enact the very strict health protocols to be respected, instilled doubt.
A few hours later, Roxana Maracineanu, the Deputy Minister in charge of Sports, explained during her visit to the site of the ephemeral Grand Palais on the Champ-de-Mars in Paris (7th century) that she did not see any objection to the holding of the first match of the Blues on February 6 in Rome "since it will be played against Italy".
On the other hand, she was much more reserved about the rest of the event.
“For the meetings against Ireland (February 14) and England (March 13), we really need to obtain the necessary guarantees from these countries so that they show us that the protocol is also demanding and serious than the one we have in France, she stressed.
When there are international matches, we put the health of these athletes at risk.
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All in camera meetings
The ball is therefore in the court of the English and the Irish, in particular, of the nations submerged by the third wave of Covid-19.
Meeting this Tuesday evening, the Six Nations committee, in which Bernard Laporte, the president of the FFR, was to discuss the different avenues open to him.
He has already noted the fact that all the meetings will take place behind closed doors, but the deterioration of the health situation has further shifted the lines in recent days in Great Britain.
The solution could come in the form of a postponement of the Tournament in June and July.
The tour of the British and Irish Lions in South Africa which was to take place during the month of July may indeed be canceled in the coming days.
The South African Federation has indicated that it was impossible for it to organize such a competition behind closed doors, otherwise it would find itself in financial jeopardy.
Given the health situation in South Africa, where the virus is progressing at high speed, it is unlikely to already consider the return of the public at this time.
A cancellation of the tour, the most popular rugby event for the British, would therefore free up dates for the Six Nations Tournament.
The French Federation would then have to give up its tour in Australia, to save the Tournament.
