Some of Wales' key players will have to return to their clubs throughout the upcoming Six Nations campaign, despite the pleas of the Welsh Rugby Union amid coronavirus concerns.
As per normal, Wales' England-based contingent must return to their employers during fallow weeks or when they are not involved in the matchday 23.
This is due to World Rugby regulations and has long been the case.
Six members of Wayne Pivac's 36-man squad will be impacted by the rules. They are Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Will Rowlands (Wasps), Taulupe Faletau (Bath), Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints), Callum Sheedy (Bristol Bears), and Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester).
However, it was hoped, in light of the current coronavirus situation in the UK, that Wales would be able to keep hold of all their players for the entire campaign.
If the players were able to stay in Wales' Covid-secure bubble, it would reduce their chances of not just catching coronavirus, but also having to self-isolate as a result of coming into close contact with a positive case elsewhere.
If either of those situations came to pass, it is likely to lead to a key player being unavailable for a Six Nations match.
Wales' preference would be to limit the number of people entering and leaving their Covid bubble for safety reasons. A by-product of that would also mean Pivac gets more time with all his players on the training pitch.
Speaking at a press conference last week, Wales boss Pivac was hoping for a 'sensible' outcome.
"It would be sensible for everyone in the current climate... we certainly don’t want to have players coming and going," said Pivac.
"As you see out in the community at the moment, this new variant is transferred very quickly.
"We’ve seen that in other sports too.
"We would like any players that we pick from outside to be here full time, if we could."
But their plea has fallen on deaf ears and players based in England will have to come and go.
On weeks when certain individuals are not involved in the match, Wales are able to keep them for training on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. They then have to return to their clubs and be ready to play in the Gallagher Premiership.
For example, this week, all six players will have to go back to their respective teams tomorrow night and be ready to play on the weekend.
During the recent autumn campaign, all players remained in Wales camp for the entire series of matches. During that time, Wales did not return a single positive test for Covid-19.
Players in the Gallagher Premiership are subjected to a rigorous weekly testing programme. In their latest round of testing, there were two positive tests from 989 players and management.
All of Pivac's squad that are based within the Welsh regions can stay in camp for the duration of the tournament and are not required to be released.
The same goes for Eddie Jones' England squad, with a smaller 28-man squad selected on the condition none of them leave the bubble to return to clubs at any point.
