Scottish Rugby has been given the greenlight to host fans at the Edinburgh vs Glasgow Warriors match at BT Murrayfield on 28 August.
Scottish Government has supported Scottish Rugby’s plans which will make the game the first professional rugby match in the UK to welcome spectators since the Covid-19 lockdown in March.
Scottish Rugby’s Chief Operating Officer, Dominic McKay said: “Scottish Rugby is delighted that a limited number of spectators will be in BT Murrayfield on Friday 28th August to watch the Guinness PRO14 match between Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors.
“We are pleased our work with the Scottish Government will ensure that players, support staff and fans will be covered by a comprehensive event plan for everyone’s safety including physical distancing requirements.
“Scottish Rugby would like to thank Government Ministers and officials who have helped us make this happen, and our own colleagues who pulled together a robust operational plan for the match.
“We hope that our experience and learnings from a live spectator event next Friday can help all of Scottish sport, and the wider events industry restart.”
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LIST | 5 England players who could swap nations for 2023 World Cup
Sir Bill Beaumont has hit back in the World Rugby election race and revealed he wants to create a law change that would allow Manu Tuilagi and other England stars to end their Test career playing for other nations.
The former England captain raised the possibility in his re-election manifesto ahead of next month’s contest with former Argentina scrum-half Agustin Pichot.
In it he promises a review of Regulation 8 which covers eligibility to play for national teams “to see how we can support the longevity of players’ international careers”.
Based on this, we’ve looked at some other current England stars who could head to the 2023 Rugby World Cup to represent other nations.
We’ve not included Billy Vunipola, as we think he is likely to be still in the reckoning for England in three years time.
1. Manu Tuilagi (Samoa)
- Current number of caps: 41
- Age at the start of RWC 2023: 32
- Did you know: He was named Manusamoa, after the name of the Samoan national team
The England centre, who was born in Fogapoa and came to the UK at the age of 13, is one of a clutch of Pacific Island players whose eligibility status could change if the restrictions are relaxed. He is the younger brother of Freddie, Henry, Alesana, Anitelea and Sanele Vavae Tuilagi, all of whom are Samoan internationals and also played for Leicester. It would be fantastic for the powerhouse to complete the set.