FRANCE were hoping to continue their Six Nations hot streak against Scotland in Round 3.
But the match was postponed after a coronavirus outbreak within the French squad.
Why was France vs Scotland cancelled?
France vs Scotland was cancelled after the entire French squad was ordered to isolate.
The match had been scheduled to go ahead despite Les Bleus reporting ten positive tests.
However a further positive test led to the match being called off on Thursday, February 25.
A Six Nations statement said: "The Six Nations Testing Oversight Group (TOG) met today to review the situation in the French Camp.
"They unanimously recommended the postponement of the France v Scotland match. This will be ratified later today by the Six Nations Council.
"We will be working on the rescheduling of this fixture and will communicate the date in due course."
In a statement on Twitter, France rugby said: "Following the RT-PCR tests carried out on Wednesday, February 24, and the appearance of a positive test within the playing squad, the FFR medical committee met this morning and decided to suspend training today.
"The entire group is in isolation in accordance with the health protocol.
When was France vs Scotland?
- France vs Scotland was scheduled to be played on Sunday, February 28 at the Stade de France.
- Kick-off was at 3pm UK time – 4pm French time.
When will France vs Scotland be played now?
France vs Scotland has been pencilled in for Friday, March 26, Sky Sports reports.
French Top 14 clubs are said to have already signed off on the date, with that window reportedly the only one under consideration.
As soon as England's Premiership clubs and Scotland's Edinburgh and Glasgow give the go-ahead, the fixture should be confirmed.
Could Scotland be awarded a win?
In the Autumn Nations Cup, France, Italy and Scotland were awarded 28-0 wins over Fiji after a Covid outbreak within the Pacific Islanders' squad – therefore the precedent is there.
However, it is only likely that this would even be considered if France were found to have been responsible for the virus entering the squad through, for example, a breach of bubble regulations.
Prior to the tournament, the head of the Six Nations Ben Morel said the priority would be to reschedule if any matches were postponed.
He commented: "The primary focus would be to reschedule.
"The reason why we went for immediate results during the Nations Cup was that it had to progress because there was a finals weekend.
"We would obviously want to protect the sporting integrity of the Six Nations as much as possible.
"We are confident in our ability to stage the matches at the right time, it's more what logistical gymnastics we need to adapt to."
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