Six Nations to go ahead as planned but no guarantee of games as coronavirus fears continue

This Saturday’s Scotland vs France and England vs Wales games will go ahead as planned but the Six Nations remains at the mercy of governmental advice as authorities look to stem the spread of the deadly virus

The Six Nations will continue as planned despite the fears over coronavirus, but organisers could not confirm whether the remaining five fixtures will go ahead as planned.

A meeting in Paris between the six unions involved resulted in an agreement for the five remaining Championship fixtures to go ahead as planned, though this weekend’s postponed match between Ireland and Italy – as well as the corresponding women’s and under-20s games - will remain off after the Irish Rugby Football Union held talks with the government last week.

The Six Nations has also vowed to complete all fixtures across all three championships, meaning the Ireland vs Italy games are certain to be played later in the year with no more fallow weeks scheduled during the tournament, but while organisers confirmed that England’s final weekend trip to Rome remains on – given it is the fixture most under threat due to the seriousness of the coronavirus outbreak in Italy – it is no guarantee that the game will go ahead as planned.

There are also serious concerns among the Rugby Football Union about the staging of the women’s and under-20s games that weekend, which are both due to take place in the north of the country at the Stadio Plebiscito and Payanini Rugby Centre respectively, and officials confirmed that the games could yet be relocated to give them the best possible chance to go ahead.

“The Six Nations met today in Paris to address the current situation regarding the Covid-19 Virus,” a statement read. “Six Nations and its six unions and federations are following the situation very closely with their respective governments and relevant health authorities and will strictly follow any directive given that would impact sporting events.

“As it stands today, based on the latest information, all Six Nations matches currently scheduled are set to go ahead.

“Six Nations is in contact with the FIR (Italian Rugby Federation) and the RFU regarding the possibility of relocating the women’s and under-20 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.

“Six Nations intends to complete all 15 games across all three championships when time allows but we will refrain from making any rescheduling announcements for the time being while we keep assessing the situation.”

With Italy’s championship hopes over before they began and Ireland suffering defeat last time out against England, the completion of the remaining fixtures could yet produce a winner on 14 March – the final day of the championship.

Both games this weekend look set to go ahead, with Wales only needing to travel along the M4 to Twickenham and France cleared to head to Scotland, and should Ireland get the green light to play Les Bleus in Paris on the final day of the championship, Fabien Galthie’s side could secure a Grand Slam as the only unbeaten side remaining, which cannot be usurped by any other side despite Ireland’s eventually result in their rearranged match with Italy.

However, should France lose either of their remaining fixtures, the door will be open for England and Ireland to claim the championship, meaning a winner may not be crowned until long after the scheduled end of the tournament.

Italy did issue a positive update on Monday morning to confirm that all rugby would resume this weekend where possible, though sport remains at risk in the infected northern regions where events are being postponed or played behind closed doors.

England meanwhile welcomed Mako Vunipola back into the squad to prepare for their clash with Wales this Saturday after the loosehead prop returned from Tonga, having missed the recent victory over Scotland due to family reasons.

The Saracens forward was one of 34 players brought into camp by head coach Eddie Jones along with fit-again Anthony Watson after the Bath back recovered from a calf injury that has kept him sidelined throughout the opening three rounds. However, the biggest surprise saw Exeter Chiefs scrum-half Jack Maunder called up nearly three years since winning his one and only cap on the tour of Argentina, despite Jones’s preference to name just two No 9s in his squads so far.

Both Ben Youngs and Willi Heinz remain in the side, with the former signing a new contract with Leicester Tigers to end speculation over his future, though the club would not confirm the length of the new deal.