New positive is 14th case in French camp since Ireland match on February 14; France were due to host Scotland in their next Six Nations game in Paris on Sunday; Six Nations organisers had given game go ahead on Wednesday
Thursday 25 February 2021 17:02, UK
France's Six Nations clash against Scotland in Paris on Sunday has been postponed after a new coronavirus case was recorded in the French camp.
France suspended training on Thursday when a fresh Covid-19 positive was returned among their players from tests conducted on Wednesday. The squad is now isolating.
The Six Nations Testing Oversight Group (TOG) met on Thursday to review France's situation and came to a unanimous recommendation that the game be postponed.
The decision will be ratified later on Thursday by the Six Nations Council, with a date for the rescheduled game to be announced in "due course".
It is unlikely that the game will be rearranged for the second rest week of the tournament (weekend of March 6 and 7) because there remains a risk of infection within the France camp.
Scotland could be without more than 10 players if the game is rearranged for outside World Rugby's international window due to them being recalled for club commitments.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend says he is disappointed the match can not take place when originally scheduled but accepts the decision.
Townsend said: "We will wait to see what options are available to play this match against France, but it remains our position that we want to have all our eligible players available to us for that fixture, so we can compete to the level we would have done this weekend."
On Wednesday, Six Nations organisers had given the go ahead for Sunday's match, despite 13 positive results recorded in the French camp in the past week.
Captain Charles Ollivon and scrum-half Antoine Dupont are among the now 11 players to have contracted the virus, while head coach Fabien Galthie was among three staff to test positive.
The team had only resumed contact training on Wednesday but the FFR had previously said it would conduct daily testing until Sunday.
France's sports minister Roxana Maracineanu has asked president of the French Rugby Federation (FFR), Bernard Laporte, to investigate the series of cases.
France have a 100-per-cent record in this year's tournament having recorded victories over Italy and Ireland in their two matches to date.
They are still due to face England at Twickenham on March 13 before ending their Six Nations campaign at home to Wales a week later.
