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Twickenham is in chaos over Covid

Samoa do haka despite no play!

By James Sharpe

THE Barbarians last night insisted they did have enough players for their abandoned fixture against Samoa after being branded ‘a shambles’ and ‘a disgrace’ for the game being called off just 90 minutes before kick-off at Twickenham.

Team bosses claimed it was Public Health England’s final decision to cancel the contest after six positive Covid cases emerged in the Baa-Baas camp from two players and four coaches — just a year after 13 players broke a Covid bubble and forced the game against England at the same stadium to be scrapped.

Former Wales fly-half Jonathan Davies said: ‘This is an utter shambles and disgrace. They have promoted the game and Samoa pulled out all the stops to get here without their full-strength squad, ironically, due to Covid restrictions some could not travel. And now this! They get all this way here and it is called off so close to kick-off. It’s not good enough.

‘After the shambles of last year too when some of the Barbarians broke the bubble and had to be replaced, it is unforgivable.’

Samoa’s players still performed the haka for their travelling fans while forward Joe Tekori, set to retire after this game, was left in tears. The Rugby Football Union apologised and confirmed fans would be given a full refund.

The Barbarians claimed the decision to pull the plug was taken out of their hands. Their statement read: ‘Despite the recent positive Covid tests, we had a fit 23 today who all tested negative this morning.

‘They were ready and keen to take to the pitch. The squad complied to the letter with the Covid protocols throughout the week, including daily lateral flow tests.

‘After today’s results, we worked hard with the RFU, Public Health England and the testing oversight committee, to find a way that we could play.

‘Unfortunately, it was concluded on medical grounds that there was a risk to players on both sides should the game go ahead. Our players are absolutely devastated they were unable to play today.’

A record 29,581 crowd for a women’s rugby union game was still able to see Barbarians thrashed South Africa with 10 tries in a 60-5 victory. Meanwhile, European Rugby chiefs are ‘worried and

concerned’ for the start of next month’s Champions Cup with Welsh sides Scarlets and Cardiff as well as Irish team Munster stranded in South Africa and facing a race against time to get home.

The three clubs had been preparing for United Rugby Championship games this weekend only for fixtures to be postponed and travel bans imposed after the discovery of the new Omicron coronavirus variant in South Africa.

The three teams hope to return this weekend but Cardiff and Scarlets were unlikely to beat today’s UK deadline for avoiding a 10-day hotel quarantine — which would put their Champions Cup games against Toulouse and Bristol respectively, scheduled for December 11-12, under threat. Munster are due to play a Champions Cup tie against Wasps that weekend.

In football, Portuguese side Belenenses last night started with nine players — two of whom were goalkeepers — against Benfica due to a Covid outbreak.

In cricket, the final two matches of South Africa’s three-match ODI men’s series against Holland has also been cancelled after the first at Centurion Park was washed out on Friday. Cricket South Africa said the decision was made ‘as a result of mounting anxiety and concern’ from the tourists about the travelling situation. The Dutch team are hoping to fly home later this week.

Golf’s European Tour — now known as the DP World Tour — also descended into chaos after its first event saw a host of withdrawals and the contest reduced to just 36 holes. The 2010 Ryder Cup player Ross Fisher joined 18 other players from the UK and Ireland who chose not to compete in the Joburg Open in South Africa.

The event was initially cut to 54 holes to ‘help non-South African resident players return to their home countries’.

Poor weather then cut the tournament — won by South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence — to 36 holes.

Rugby

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2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

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