Six Nations: France seek assurances from England and Ireland over safety of fixtures
Team’s opener versus Italy has been cleared, but there is concern around some of their following matches
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Your support makes all the difference.The French government has said it needs assurances from England and Ireland that it will be safe for the national rugby union team to travel for Six Nations fixtures during the coronavirus pandemic.
French sports minister Roxana Maracineanu said France’s opener versus Italy in Rome on 6 February had been cleared.
France are then set to play Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on 14 February and England at Twickenham on 13 March.
“We keep the first match,” Maracineanu told reporters. “On the other hand, against Ireland and England we absolutely need to have the necessary guarantees from these countries.
READ MORE: Six Nations to go ahead as planned, insist organisers
“There has to be proof that the other nations’ virus framework respects the same requirements in terms of precaution. We expect the same thing from the other teams.”
The British government has allowed elite sport to continue despite the country being placed into strict lockdown amid a surge in Covid-19 cases.
Several nations have recently closed their borders to Britain and South Africa after new variants of the novel coronavirus were identified in those two countries.
The European Champions Cup and Challenge Cup have been suspended after the French government recommended games against British clubs be postponed.
French rugby federation president Bernard Laporte, however, said he remained optimistic the Six Nations would go ahead as scheduled.
Reuters
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