Saracens issue new statement regarding coronavirus

Saracens have issued a fresh statement on the potential effects of the coronavirus on upcoming fixtures.

At Test level, England’s Six Nations game against Italy on March 14 in Rome has been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, the PA news agency are reporting.

Tournament organisers faced the option of playing the game behind closed doors at the Stadio Olimpico or delaying it until later in the year and have chosen the latter option.

It follows the publication of a new Italian government decree that has ordered all sporting events to take place without fans until April 3 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Six Nations officials had declared on Monday that all remaining matches in the championship were going ahead as planned except for the already postponed meeting of Ireland versus Italy in Dublin which had been fixed for next Saturday in Dublin.

Now Saracens say they are monitoring the situation closely.

The statement reads:

"Saracens is monitoring the ongoing global outbreak of coronavirus, also known as covid-19, and decisions regarding the fulfilment of fixtures will be made with the safety of spectators, teams, officials and broadcast partners at the forefront.

"The Club is in active dialogue with Premiership Rugby who are in turn receiving advice from the World Health Organisation and Public Health England.

"At present all matches hosted by Saracens at Allianz Park and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are proceeding as planned. Should the situation change fans will be advised through Club channels including e-mail, website and social media."

There was confusion regarding Englands Mako Vunipola training with Saracens but being withheld from Eddie Jones training camp.

Vunipola returned from Tonga over the weekend having flown back via Hong Kong – a location of a significant coronavirus outbreak – and on Monday was named in a training squad for the Twickenham showdown.

Although asymptomatic for Covid-19 and not self-isolating, Vunipola was then withdrawn before the players gathered at England’s Surrey training camp.

But in a twist, the Lions prop’s club Saracens announced on Wednesday morning that he had been fully involved in training at Allianz Park and is contention to play in Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership clash with Leicester.

Shaping the decision made by England’s head of medicine Dr Simon Kemp and team doctor Dr Richard Tingay was the close-knit surroundings of England’s camp, where players are in close proximity for long spells of the day.

Additional reporting PA