EUROPEAN Rugby chiefs are said to be “worried” and “concerned” for the start of next month’s Champions Cup with three of the competition’s teams currently stuck in South Africa.
Welsh sides Scarlets and Cardiff, plus Irish giants Munster, had been preparing for United Rugby Championship games in the southern hemisphere this weekend.
But the sudden emergence of a new Covid-19 variant first found by scientists in Africa saw the Rainbow Nation placed on the British Government’s travel red list on Friday.
It has left the three teams scrabbling to get home.
Last night, Cardiff, Scarlets and Munster – plus Italian side Zebre who are also in South Africa – had all congregated in Cape Town as they tried desperately to return to Europe.
The teams have planes on standby ready to go, but have not yet been given Civil Aviation Authority clearance to fly due to the closure of borders in the UK and European Union.
It means Cardiff, Scarlets and Munster will not be back in the UK by 4am this morning. The result of that is when they do eventually get permission to fly, all players and backroom staff will be forced to stay in hotel quarantine for ten days.
There is no indication if permission to fly will be granted anytime soon.
Covid-19 hotel quarantine costs £2,285 per person for ten days. The two Welsh sides have 97 employees in South Africa, meaning a potential hotel quarantine bill of nearly £250,000.
TRAVEL UPDATE | We are flying from Durban to Cape Town to base ourselves ahead of further flight updates pic.twitter.com/NvH80qWmQv
— Scarlets Rugby (@scarlets_rugby) November 27, 2021
Quarantine bill could hit £250k for Welsh
Cardiff, Scarlets and Munster’s Champions Cup first-round games with Toulouse, Bristol and Wasps respectively are now in severe doubt.
The teams would not be out of isolation until a day before European rugby’s prestige tournament begins on December 10.
There is concern some Champions Cup matches will have to be called off.
The new Omicron variant is thought to be severe. British scientists have warned it makes vaccines 40 per cent less effective.
Yesterday two cases of the variant were identified in the UK and prime minister Boris Johnson last night held an emergency meeting.
“The priority is that the players and staff come home safe,” said former Wales wing Shane Williams. “They’ll have to do a couple of star jumps, sit-ups and squats in their rooms if they’re going to be anywhere near ready for European action.
“It’s a big, big ask and it will be interesting to see how it goes. Let’s get them back first.”
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