Mere hours before kick off , the news broke that the scheduled Leinster versus Toulon Champions Cup game had been called off. Not much reasoning was given at the time however covid has since been confirmed as to the cause of the cancellation.
Fans have been eagerly waiting for word as to what this means for the two sides in the competition, will the match be replayed or will Leinster automatically qualify to the next round. The EPCR has just reached their conclusion and have confirmed Leinster will proceed to the next round to face either Exeter Cheifs or Lyon in the Quarter Finals
Here is the full Statement:
Following the cancellation of the Heineken Champions Cup, Round of 16 fixture between Leinster Rugby and RC Toulon due to health and safety concerns for players, club staff and match officials alike, the result of the match has been decided by a Match Result Resolution Committee.
The committee, comprising members of the EPCR Management team, with EPCR Board members, Andrea Rinaldo (FIR) and Robert Howat (SRU), as observers, considered the facts regarding the cancelled match today (Friday, 2 April).
Following medical advice that the match could not be played safely, RC Toulon were unable to select a match day squad after it was deemed that the club had a number of high-risk close contacts with one of its non-travelling players who had tested positive for COVID-19.
Therefore as RC Toulon could not fulfil the fixture, the committee decided under the terms of EPCR’s COVID-19 protocol that Leinster will progress to the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals on the weekend of 9/10/11 April.
KCLR were set to provide live commentary for the game however you can instead listen to our Rugby podcast “The Knock On” with Head of Sport Stephen Byrne and Former Leinster Captain Chris Pimm , to get your Leinster Rugby fix.
