Northampton Saints Heineken Champions Cup fixture against Racing 92 in Paris, scheduled for Sunday 23 January, has been cancelled.
The men in Black, Green and Gold were due to travel to France today for the Round 4 fixture in Pool A, but returned a number of positive Covid-19 results overnight in the squad’s final round of PCR testing.
Following consultation with EPCR and PRL, it was decided that the team should not travel, and therefore Northampton Saints are unable to fulfil the fixture. In accordance with the Tournament Rules, Racing 92 were awarded a 28-0 victory and five match points, with Saints gaining no match points.
EPCR acknowledged the efforts of both clubs to fulfil the fixture, and reiterated that awarding the match to Racing 92 is a tournament management measure with the objective of ensuring that all fixtures in the 2021/22 Heineken Champions Cup are accounted for, and not a sanction.
Northampton remain in tenth place in Pool A ahead of the remainder of this weekend’s fixtures, with the ninth to 11th ranked sides dropping into the Challenge Cup competition for the Round of 16.