Curtain-raiser Called Off

In a current world that is governed by the rules of COVID-19, a decision made by the UK Health Security Agency – a government agency for UK-wide public health protection – resulted in a curtain-raiser game between the Barbarians men’s team and Samoa being called off. The decision was made 90 minutes before kick-off even though there were enough players that had a negative PCR test.

England’s Rugby Football Union released a statement, its contents revealing that four players and two staff members from the visiting team tested positive for COVID-19. It is a recurring theme after last year’s game against England was scrapped when 13 players broke COVID-19 restrictions. At the time, there was disapproval of the players’ behaviour.

Due to the game against Samoa being scrapped the following women’s game versus the South African team, the Springboks, was brought forward. The Barbarians, in front of a crowd of 29,581 fans, displayed a world record performance and won with a score of 60-5.

However, the Barbarians men’s team argued that they still had enough players to field a team for their game with Samoa but due to the testing committee’s decision the game was cancelled. The committee said that there was a risk to the health of the players and staff.

Source The Guardian, Barbarians match called off 90 minutes before kick-off due to Covid cases

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