France say all their players and staff have tested negative for Covid-19 in the latest round of testing; 10 France players tested positive last week; a decision on whether their game against Scotland can go ahead on Sunday is expected on Wednesday
Tuesday 23 February 2021 09:54, UK
All of France's players and staff have tested negative for coronavirus in a new round of tests before a decision on whether their Six Nations match against Scotland can go ahead as scheduled this weekend.
The French Rugby Federation said on Tuesday that the new tests were carried out on Monday night, after a series of coronavirus positives in the France camp. This time, all players and staff passed.
Previously, 10 players and three staff members had tested positive in the outbreak that hit the France squad.
The most recent were captain Charles Ollivon, forwards Cyril Baille, Peato Mauvaka, Romain Taofifenua, and full-back Brice Dulin.
The Six Nations testing oversight group is to reconvene on Wednesday to decide whether the match against Scotland can go ahead on Sunday in Paris.
If not, it is likely it will be postponed for a week.
Scotland warned on Monday that a delay could affect the availability of their own players.
Any postponement will have an impact on the player release agreement in place with clubs, which could see more than 10 Scotland players unavailable for selection if the game is rearranged, the Scottish Rugby Union said.
"We will be working closely with our Six Nations counterparts to press the case for this week's game to go ahead, should it be medically safe to do so," it said.
