Northampton's match against Leicester becomes fifth Premiership match cancelled due to...

[ASFN Admin]

This Saturday's East Midlands derby has been cancelled after a Covid outbreak within the Northampton squad, making it the fifth Gallagher Premiership match cancelled so far this season. The Saints, who have not played since their Boxing Day win over Worcester, were hit by "a number of positive tests" on Tuesday and, after working through contact-tracing protocols, identified further players who would be unavailable for selection. All the affected players have begun the mandatory 10-day isolation period and Northampton will now not train until Monday, January 11, at the earliest. A Premiership Rugby panel will now be convened to determine the allocation of points, but it is likely that Leicester will receive four points for the "victory", with Northampton receiving two. "Northampton Saints can today confirm that the Club’s Gallagher Premiership fixture against Leicester Tigers on Saturday has regrettably been cancelled," a Saints statement read. "In this week’s round of PCR testing ahead of the East Midlands Derby, the club returned a number of positive tests, and had further players unavailable for selection following the Contact Tracing process." Director of rugby Chris Boyd added: “We are incredibly disappointed and frustrated that we are unable to proceed with such an important fixture for the Club. “The East Midlands derby is a day that Saints supporters will have circled in their calendar months in advance. It’s a game entrenched in history and one our players particularly relish being a part of. “The club has been absolutely rigorous in how we have followed the protocols laid out for us, and despite returning a number of positive tests this week, we were confident that we have more than enough of our squad still healthy and available to play the game if required. Saints have felt the force of Covid more than most Premiership clubs over the past fortnight. After Boyd revealed last week that the squad had one positive test - with other close contacts self-isolating - the Saints' match against London Irish, scheduled to be played last Sunday, was cancelled due to an outbreak within the Exiles' squad. Boyd's side received four points for the "victory", lifting them up to eighth in the table. Northampton's opponents at Franklin's Gardens this weekend, Leicester, have been fighting a coronavirus outbreak of their own over the past two weeks, although head coach Steve Borthwick was due back at training on Tuesday after self-isolating for the Tigers' win over Bath.

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