Munster’s St Stephen’s Day clash with Leinster postponed, amid Covid concerns

A big feature of the sporting festive schedule has been nixed.

The fall-out from 'a number of positive' Covid-19 cases in the Leinster squad continues after the United Rugby Championship confirmed another match postponement. Leinster were due to face Munster at Thomond Park on Sunday, December 26 but that game will now have to be rescheduled. The URC statement reads, in full:

'The Round 8 United Rugby Championship fixture between Munster and Leinster has been postponed. 'The game was due to take place on Sunday, December 26 in Limerick, however, a number of positive Covid-19 cases within the Leinster squad have been reported by the province. The URC Medical Advisory Group has liaised with the IRFU and Leinster, who are working with the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) and deemed that the fixture cannot go ahead as scheduled. 'The United Rugby Championship will now consider available dates to reschedule the game. At this point there is no impact on Leinster’s R9 fixture with Ulster, scheduled for Saturday, January 1, 2022.'

Second URC postponement in quick succession

The news comes fast on the heels of another URC game - Ospreys vs. Dragons - getting postponed, while Glasgow vs. Edinburgh is likely to take place without any spectators present. Leinster were forced to accept a forfeit decision when they could not travel to France, last week, to take on Montpellier in the Champions Cup. The decision meant Leinster are in the record books as having lost '28-0', although the four-time champions want to appeal the decision. The URC was taking breaks from holding games during the Test windows, in November, February and March, but teams may now be asked to field sides without internationals to address the back-log. As of now, Connacht's league encounter with Ulster is still set to go ahead, albeit with a reduced capacity due to Covid restrictions introduced last Friday.

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