The Six Nations tournament is set to go ahead as planned in February and March, organisers have said.
The competition is due to begin on 6 February when Italy host France, but – with the Lions tour to South Africa now under threat due to the escalating Covid-19 pandemic – it had been suggested that the Six Nations might be postponed by four months to take advantage of the potential gap in the window.
With large numbers of the population expected to be vaccinated by the summer, there would be the potential for spectators to be present at games, helping financially stricken unions. However, the tournament is set to go ahead in its customary window, unless there is further coronavirus-related disruption.
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“The Six Nations is planning for the tournament to go ahead as scheduled, but we are are monitoring the situation with the unions and their respective governments and health authorities,” a spokesperson said.
England said they expect the launch of their title defence against Scotland at Twickenham on 6 February to proceed as anticipated.
“We are committed to the fixtures and monitoring the situation with all parties. Planning continues aligned with current guidelines,” the Rugby Football Union said.
For the Six Nations to be moved to the summer, the Lions tour would have to be cancelled as soon as possible, but managing director Ben Calveley on Saturday set a February deadline for a conclusion to the crunch talks over its viability.
Underlining the difficulty facing the Lions on the issue of whether to proceed is Monday’s admission by Health Secretary Matt Hancock that he is “very worried” about the South African variant of Covid-19.
The mutation is thought to be more transmissible than the new UK strain and more resistant to the vaccines, resulting in all flights from South Africa to these shores being banned.
PA
