Toulon match will never be played - Bath chairman Craig

The game was scheduled to take place in Toulon on Sunday but was one of five matches called off in the wake of Friday's attacks in Paris that claimed at least 129 lives.





Craig, who is on the board of officials trying to reschedule the matches, said it would be impossible to find a slot for the Toulon game due to fixture congestion caused by the Rugby World Cup and England's tour of Australia next year.

"It is very clear to me that the Toulon match can't happen," Craig told the Daily Telegraph on Monday.

"There are simply no free weekends available between now and the end of the season. It is unacceptable that the international calendar does not take into account the domestic game.

"We are playing matches right through the 2016 Six Nations championship to get everything fitted in. There are 33 weekends all accounted for and no slack," he added.

"The midweek option is not an option to my mind as that would (be) to the detriment of player welfare as well as the integrity of two competitions.

"There is no way we should be letting that happen. You can't play three high-profile games in a week."

Craig said the issue was "not a serious matter" when viewed in the wider context of the events in Paris but the decision was of "significant consequence" from a rugby point of view.

The Bath chairman also criticised the decision to sanction an England tour of Australia at the end of a World Cup season.

"Why England are going off on a tour to Australia at the end of a World Cup season I don't know. What is the point? The players will be knackered," he said.

"They are like lambs to the slaughter. They are just being destroyed. Have a tour before a World Cup but not after one."

The English Premiership season started in October instead of September to make room for the Rugby World Cup.





(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien)


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world