Toulon v Bath may not be played, says chairman Bruce Craig

Bath's postponed Champions Cup match against Toulon may not be played as there is not a free slot in the calendar, according to the club's chairman Bruce Craig.

The game was scheduled to take place in Toulon on Sunday but was one of five matches called off in the wake of Friday's attacks in Paris that claimed 129 lives.

Craig, who is on the board of officials trying to reschedule the matches, said it would be impossible to find a slot for the Toulon game due to fixture congestion caused by the World Cup and England's tour of Australia next year.

"It is very clear to me that the Toulon match can't happen," Craig told the Daily Telegraph.

"There are simply no free weekends available between now and the end of the season. It is unacceptable that the international calendar does not take into account the domestic game."

"We are playing matches right through the 2016 Six Nations championship to get everything fitted in. There are 33 weekends all accounted for and no slack," he added.

"The midweek option is not an option to my mind as that would be to the detriment of player welfare as well as the integrity of two competitions. There is no way we should be letting that happen. You can't play three high-profile games in a week."

Craig said the issue was "not a serious matter" when viewed in the wider context of the events in Paris but the decision was of "significant consequence" from a rugby point of view.

Mourad Boudjellal, the president of Toulon, has suggested the match take place during the Six Nations.

"Playing on Wednesday isn't possible," he told French sports daily L'Equipe.

"I can only see one solution... It would mean that the (national team) coaches would have to accept not being able to call up international players of Bath or Toulon in order for us to be able to play the match during a matchday of the Six Nations."

Tournament organisers say they are considering "all possible fixture  permutations."

Toulouse were the only French team in action at the weekend, losing 32-7 against Saracens at Allianz Park.

Games scheduled to be hosted by Racing 92, Oyonnax, Bordeaux-Begles and Toulon were all postponed by European Professional Club Rugby and French domestic rugby chiefs Ligue Nationale de Rugby following the Paris atrocities.

Eight matches across both tournaments are due to take place on French soil later this week, including Paris-based Stade Francais hosting Munster next Sunday.