If all the matches of the 3rd day of the Champions Cup had been able to take place normally last weekend, a meeting is however canceled during the 4th day, and it concerns the defending champion, Toulouse, who sees himself inflicted a defeat on mat against Cardiff (the match was to take place on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.) due to too many cases of coronavirus within its workforce. The EPCR formalized the information at the beginning of the afternoon: “Following a meeting of an Independent Commission for the Assessment of Match Risks, the EPCR was informed that the meeting of the 4th Day Champions Cup between Stade Toulousain and Cardiff Rugby, scheduled tomorrow (even January 22) at the Stade Ernest Wallon, could not be played. Discussions were held with Stade Toulousain and the National Rugby League before the Match Risk Assessment Commission, made up of doctors from the EPCR Medical Advisory Group and independent medical specialists, raised concerns. at EPRC. Indeed, Stade Toulousain recorded a significant number of positive Covid-19 test results among its tournament squad. The risk of additional contamination having been deemed too great, it was unfortunately decided to cancel the match. Consequently, the Cardiff Rugby club was awarded the Pool A match 28-0 with five ranking points, in accordance with the Tournament Regulations. EPCR would like to acknowledge the efforts made by both clubs to ensure that this match takes place. EPCR would also like to point out that the awarding of the match to the Cardiff Rugby club is a tournament management measure, the aim of which is to ensure that all fixture results from the 2021/2022 Champions Cup season be clarified, not a sanction. »

Seven points for Toulouse

Yet, according to RMC Sports, Stade Toulousain said it was able to line up the number of players required to play the match, namely 23 elements, including a sufficient number of front row and professional players. The president of the Toulouse club Didier Lacroix must hold a press conference in the afternoon. If the European champions have indeed lost their match, they will therefore only have seven points at the end of this group stage and their qualification for the round of 16 is therefore still far from certain.