The remaining games of rugby’s Six Nations Championship will, subject to future government intervention, go ahead, despite the coronavirus outbreak that has led to the postponement of Ireland’s match with Italy.
There had been fears that the games on March 14 between Italy and England in Rome and France and Ireland in Paris would be called off.
But representatives of the Six Unions and championship officials met in Paris and agreed that the two matches and the other games in England, Scotland and Wales over the final two rounds of the competition would go ahead.
“As it stands today, based on the latest information, all Six Nations matches currently scheduled are set to go ahead,” Six Nations said in a statement on Monday.
“Six Nations is in contact with FIR and RFU regarding the possibility of relocating the Women’s and U20 Italy vs England matches to another Italian location and we will make a further announcement on this in due course.”
“However, the Italy vs England senior men’s match in Rome is planned to go ahead as scheduled.”
The organisers said they intend to complete all 15 games across the three championships but would not commit to rescheduling fixtures while the situation was being assessed.
Organisers also said they were still preparing for potential changes, should the relevant governments take further action, while a new date for Saturday’s postponed Ireland-Italy game has yet to be agreed.