Part-time teams won’t be required to travel to Toulouse until quarantine restrictions are lifted

Part-time teams will not be required to travel to Toulouse until quarantine restrictions are lifted, the Rugby Football League has confirmed.

The RFL board has confirmed this will be in place for as long as the current UK Government quarantine regulations – which require players and staff to isolate for at least five days upon their return from France – remain in place.

As a result, Toulouse’s home games against Featherstone (May 1) and Widnes (May 8) will be postponed. However, their first match of the season against London Broncos (April 18) will go ahead because the Broncos are full-time.

The RFL and Championship clubs have already agreed that positions in the league table will be determined by points percentage this year to allow for the possibility of postponed fixtures. The only two match slots available for rearranged fixtures are on the weekend of the Challenge Cup and 1895 Cup semi-finals in June and on the Monday following the finals of those competitions on July 17.

An RFL statement read: “The Board have ruled that the priority for rearranging postponed Toulouse fixtures in those available slots should be the teams who were only scheduled to play a single away fixture against the French club following the reduction in the fixture list as a result of the delayed start to the season – Widnes and Swinton Lions, whose away game in Toulouse is scheduled for May 22.

“If the progress of Widnes and Swinton in either the Challenge Cup or the 1895 Cup means they cannot rearrange league fixtures for the two available match slots, Toulouse will be required to travel to play the fixtures in England on the scheduled dates.

“Other postponed matches could then be arranged for the available match slots, and will be done so on chronological order of the original matches.”

Clubs are required to have played in 70% of their scheduled fixtures to be eligible for the top six play-offs, so the RFL board has also ruled that Toulouse matches postponed as a result of the current quarantine regulations will not count as postponed for either Toulouse or their opponents, so that neither club are penalised for circumstances beyond their control.

The RFL statement read: “In making this decision, the Board noted that under French Government regulations, Toulouse’s players are subject to a seven-day quarantine period following any trip to the UK, making it unreasonable to require them to play any more away matches.”

Toulouse will be required to fund the PCR tests which would allow London to reduce their necessary quarantine period following their game in France from 10 days to five, and also arrange cover for any medical staff unable to travel due to other work commitments.

The statement continued: “The RFL Board appreciate that this is a complex issue, and that the landscape regarding international travel is likely to evolve further over the coming weeks and months; however, it has reached the above having weighed up the competing factors and believes that it is in the overall interests of the competition.”

The free-to-play Fantasy Rugby League 2021 is live! To access the game and start playing, visit https://fantasy.loverugbyleague.com

Rugby League Nostalgia is here! Get involved with Love Rugby League’s new group on Facebook to share all your rugby league nostalgia and celebrate the rich heritage of our sport.