Here's the morning headlines for Friday, March 13.
Guinness PRO14 suspended indefinitely
The Guinness PRO14 season has been suspended indefinitely in response to the escalating coronavirus outbreak.
Matches involving Italian sides had already been postponed, but now the whole league programme has been put on hold.
Resuming the season will be under constant review, but no end date to the suspension can be provided at this moment in time.
A statement from the organisers reads: “The PRO14 is an international league.
“Cross border travel is inevitable and that brings with it unique challenges.
“With governments in Italy and Ireland already putting in place clear directives and restrictions around public activities and travel, the decision to suspend the competition is appropriate."
Super Rugby match goes behind closed doors
Fans will be locked out of this weekend’s Super Rugby clash between the Jaguares and the Highlanders in Buenos Aires, making it the first game in the competition to go behind closed doors over the virus.
Officials in Australia and New Zealand are also monitoring the situation, as the possibility of more dramatic changes is not being ruled out.
Two Sunwolves games have been moved from Japan to Australia because of the virus, but Saturday’s game between the Jaguares and the Highlanders is the first to bar spectators.
NRL forced behind closed doors
Australia's NRL (National Rugby League) has become the latest major sporting league to be forced behind closed doors by the coronavirus crisis.
Matches this weekend will take place as planned, but from next week games in Australia’s top rugby league tier will be in empty stadiums.
Japanese rugby shut down at all junior levels
The Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) has announced major new measure to combat coronavirus including the cancellation of any competitions in high school or younger level until April 5.
The Asia Sevens Invitational 2020 scheduled to be held at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo on 25 and 26 April is also off.
Why Wales v Scotland is going ahead
The Welsh Rugby Union have decided to follow precisely the instructions from the qualified agencies and governments.
Their stance, all along, is they would take the advice of the health experts and act on what government require them to do.
Welsh Government Minister for Health Vaughan Gething told a press conference on Thursday afternoon that the game will go ahead.
The message from him was the UK Government was considering banning major sporting fixtures, but that is not happening immediately.
“There is little medical reason at the moment to ban such events,” he said.
“The scientific advice is it has little effect on the spread, but it does place a burden on other public services.
“So we will be keeping that under review. We are keeping it up our sleeve, but it’s important to get the timing right.”
Wayne Pivac not feeling the pressure
Wayne Pivac insisted he is not feeling the pressure of being Warren Gatland’s successor and Wales will have had a “decent” Six Nations if they beat Scotland.
Gatland never lost three matches in a row in the European championship.
Nevertheless, Pivac claims his more expansive game-plan, with its reliance on skill, will reap rewards further along the line.
“They have gone from one style of game, which was pretty black and white, and the boys knew exactly their roles,” he explained.
“Some of them have got new roles now. It’s just getting the balance right of going from one extreme to the other. We are probably somewhere in the middle.
“It does take a bit of time. I think Alun Wyn Jones [Wales captain] said at the start don’t expect it to happen overnight and there’s going to be some ups and downs. That’s pretty much what has happened this competition.
“We are disappointed with not winning the French game and then after getting back into the English game after half-time, for a 15-minute period let it slip away again.
“That’s that grey area I am talking about. Do we move the ball here? Do we play for field position? That’s going to come with time."
