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Six Nations/PRO14 confirms more matches are off next weekend and beyond

(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Six Nations have followed up Monday’s announcement that the France versus Ireland men’s tournament finale has been postponed by confirming on Tuesday that the women’s and under-20s matches between the two countries have also been called off.

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The women’s fixture was due to go ahead in Lille on Saturday with the under-20s fixed for Perpignan the previous night. The latter postponement dashes Irish hopes for now of them staying on course for the age-grade Grand Slam having won their opening three matches.   

In a statement, the Six Nations said: “Further to Monday’s press release announcing the postponement of the Guinness Six Nations match between France and Ireland, Six Nations can now confirm that the women and U20 matches between the two countries have also been postponed.

“The Wales vs Scotland Guinness Six Nations and U20 matches will go ahead as scheduled.

“Discussions with unions and federations are ongoing as it is of the utmost importance to find suitable dates for rescheduled matches while respecting the values and integrity of our Championship.”

Next weekend’s matches came under threat on Sunday evening when French President Emmanuel Macron placed a ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people in a bid to fight the spread of the coronavirus. 

Macron’s announcement followed the previous week’s decision by the French government to place a ban on indoor gatherings of over 5,000 people.

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Meanwhile, round 14 and 15 Guinness PRO14 fixtures involving Benetton and Zebre have now been postponed due to restrictions enforced by the Italian government that will prevent the teams from travelling.

The round 14 game between Cardiff Blues and Zebre in Wales (March 21) and the round 15 game between Munster and Benetton (March 27) in Ireland have now been postponed.

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SK 36 minutes ago
Why England's defence of the realm has crumbled without Felix Jones

The way they are defending is sometime pathetic to be honest. Itoje is usually on the inside of the rush and he is paired with a slower tight forward. Unable to keep up with the rush we have seen the line become disconnected on the inside where the big boys are. How many times have we seen Earl rush past the first receiver almost into no mans land covering no attacker. It looks like a system without any guidance. Tome Wright, Ikitau and a number of Wallabies went back to this soft centre as did Williams, Jordan and several others. Also when the line is broken the multiple lines of defence seems to be missing. The rush is predicated on a cover and recovery system with multiple lines of defence but with England you dont see it any more. Fitness and conditioning seems to be off as well as players are struggling to keep up with the intensity of the rush. Felix Jones has left a huge hole. The whole situation was and is a mess. Why they insist on not letting him go and having him work remotely is beyond me. Its leading to massive negative press and is a hot button issue thats distracting from the squad. Also the communication around Jones and his role has been absolute rubbish and is totally disjointed. While some say he is working remotely and playing a role others are saying theres been no contact. His role has not been defined and so people keep asking and keep getting different answers. England need a clean break from him and need to start over. Whatever reason for his leaving its time to cut the rope before the saga drags the whole Borthwick regime down. As for Joe El Abd well good luck to him. He is being made to look like an amateur by the whole saga and he is being asked to coach a system thats not his and which has been perfected and honed since 2017 by Nienaber, Jones, Erasmus and Co and which was first started by White in 2004. He is literally trying to figure out a system pioneered by double world cup winning coaches at the highest level and coach it at the same time. Talk about being on a hiding to nothing.

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