The PRO14 have confirmed that two fixtures scheduled to take place in Italy this weekend have been postponed due to the Coronavirus.
There has been an outbreak of the virus in Italy over recent days and the PRO14 have decided to postpone Zebre’s clash with the Ospreys and Benetton’s game against Ulster.
In a statement by the tournament organisers they confirmed that they will reschedule both games for later in the season.
“Both Guinness PRO14 fixtures set to take place in Italy this weekend have been postponed due to the restrictions enforced by national and local authorities dealing with the threat posed by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. Contingency-planning around the rescheduling of the Round 13 games – Zebre Rugby Club v Ospreys (14:00 local) and Benetton v Ulster (16:00 local) – are currently underway. The restrictions on public gatherings and sporting events put in place by the Italian authorities apply in the Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto regions and have already seen a Women’s Six Nations game and four Serie A football fixtures postponed over the weekend. Fixtures in Italy’s national rugby championship, Top 12, and all domestic rugby activities have also been postponed ahead of this weekend,” the statement read.
As mentioned in the statement there have been several key sporting fixtures cancelled over the last weekend with Serie A games cancelled in football, while in rugby the women’s Six Nations game between Italy and Scotland was chalked off too.
The statement went on to say they were happy to go along with the calls being made in Italy and the World Health Organisation.
“The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) latest report has listed 78 countries with confirmed cases of the Corona virus. To ensure the safety of our players and spectators PRO14 Rugby fully supports the preventative measures taken in Italy and will adhere to the directives from the WHO and local authorities. The current restrictions are in place until Sunday, March 1, 2025 and PRO14 Rugby will remain in contact with the FIR (Italian Union), Zebre Rugby Club, Benetton Rugby and World Rugby to monitor situation on a daily basis,” it finished.
It remains to be seen what effect this could have over the coming weeks in the PRO14 calendar, while the Italian national team are set to take on Ireland in the Six Nations in a couple of weeks and will hope there are no changes to their schedule come then.
