Champions Cup fixtures between French and UK clubs postponed due to travel curbs

:Rugby Champions Cup and Challenge Cup fixtures between French and UK clubs scheduled for this weekend have been postponed in light of new COVID-19 travel curbs introduced by the French government, European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) said on Friday.

France on Thursday banned non-essential travel to and from the UK and tightened testing requirements for travellers.

"Following a meeting of the EPCR Board today, it has been decided that due to current exceptional circumstances, Round 2 matches in the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup between French and UK clubs scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday are postponed," the governing body said in a statement.

"This is a consequence of new travel measures between the UK and France which are being introduced by the French Government."

The French sports ministry told Reuters that they had been "working on getting an exemption through meetings with the government's crisis unit".

EPCR added: "The Board received briefings from the three professional leagues which included updated information from the respective governments, however, there were insufficient assurances that these matches would not be at risk."

The blanket postponement comes after Saturday's clash between Ospreys and Racing 92 was cancelled due to a number of positive COVID-19 cases in the Welsh side. Leinster had to forfeit their game against Montpellier for similar reasons.

(Reporting by Dhruv Munjal in Bengaluru and Julien Pretot; editing by John Stonestreet and Toby Davis)