Six Nations organisers have confirmed that England's match against Italy in Rome on Saturday March 14th has been postponed due to the coronavirus threat but they say that all other games will go ahead as planned.
England’s meeting with the Italians is the second match of the tournament to be postponed after Ireland v Italy – scheduled for this Saturday – was also called off on health grounds.
The under-20s and women’s matches have also been called off in both cases.
Both of those games will likely be rescheduled for Ocotber but the organisers released a statement on Thursday saying that all matches – including Ireland’s showdown with France in Paris on Saturday 14th – will go ahead.
French plans to move at some point from stage 2 of its response to the coronavirus to stage 3 are to be discussed today at a meeting of advisors convened by France’s president, Emmanuel Macron.
A move to stage 3 would likely put the meeting between Ireland and France in jeopardy but, for the moment, all is continuing as planned, starting with England v Wales and Scotland v France this Saturday and Sunday respectively.
“Based on the information that is currently available, all other Six Nations matches are set to go ahead as scheduled,” read the statement.
“As previously stated, Six Nations fully intends to complete all 15 games across all three championships when time allows. We will refrain from making any rescheduling announcements while we keep assessing the situation.
“Six Nations will continue to monitor developments with our unions and their respective governments and health authorities. We remain fully supportive of any preventative measures taken in the interests of overall public health in relation to the Coronavirus and we will respect instructions provided by government authorities and health organisations.”
