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Wales Online
Sport
Ben James

Six Nations match in chaos as 10 France players now have Covid-19 amid mass outbreak

Five more France players, including captain Charles Ollivon, have tested positive for Covid-19.

Cyril Baille, Romain Taofifenua, Peato Mauvaka and Brice Dulin have also tested positive - bringing the number of French players testing positive to 10 - as the situation ahead of their Six Nations clash with Scotland worsens.

Two members of management have also been deemed "suspicious cases" - joining the five players in isolating.

It's the latest blow to France's preparations for their fixture with Scotland this Sunday, having already had head coach Fabien Galthie test positive last week.

That was quickly followed by star scrum-half Antoine Dupont returning a positive test, before centre Arthur Vincent, winger Gabin Villiere and props Julien Marchand and Mohammed Haouas also tested positive for the virus.

The latest round of positive tests has left France scrambling for replacements - with three uncapped players in Gaëtan Barlot, Thierry Paiva and Cyril Cazeaux being called up.

The other call-ups, Baptiste Pesenti and Thomas Ramos, only have 16 caps between them.

A French Rugby Federation statement said: "Following RT-PCR tests carried out on Sunday February 21, five new players tested positive for Covid-19, leading to the selection of five new players to prepare for the match against Scotland.

"Cyril Baille, Peato Mauvaka, Romain Taofifenua, Charles Ollivon and Brice Dulin have tested positive for Covid-19."

The FFR say players will return to training on Wednesday and are subjected to test results carried out every 24 hours.

However, the rising number of cases has called into question whether the game can feasibly go ahead, with Scotland sure to be concerned about travelling to Paris in the current circumstances.

Six Nations bosses have issued a statement and have confirmed they will make a decision about the match on Wednesday, while France team manager Raphael Ibanez has claimed the chaos may have started in Ireland.

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