This year’s Six Nations will have to wait to reach its conclusion.
With the ongoing concern over the coronavirus outbreak, only Wales v Scotland at the Principality Stadium is scheduled to go ahead this weekend on what was supposed to be ‘Super Saturday’.
The decision to call off France v Ireland in Paris, along with Italy v England in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, leaves this year’s championship up in the air.
As we wait for news on when the postponed fixtures will take place, BBC Sport looks at the key questions surrounding the 2020 tournament.
Are England favourites to win the Six Nations?
With Scotland ending France’s Grand Slam hopes following a 28-17 victory on Sunday, the door has opened for England to claim the Six Nations title.
Eddie Jones’ side, who beat Wales 33-30 on Saturday to secure a first Triple Crown in four years, are level with France in the Six Nations standings but have a slightly better points difference of 15 compared to France’s 13.
When the fixture against Italy is rearranged later in the year, England would expect to win and significantly improve their points difference.
But round four’s results have also handed Ireland a chance of winning a second championship in three years.
Andy Farrell’s team are on nine points in the table with a points difference of five, but have played one game less than the rest of the teams after last week’s match against Italy was called off.
If Ireland secure bonus-point wins over Italy at Stadio Olimpico and then against France at Stade de France, they would be crowned champions regardless of the result England achieve in their rescheduled match.
France could also still win the title if they claim a bonus-point victory over Ireland and England fail to match that result against Italy.
Where can Scotland and Wales finish?
England, Ireland and France may be favourites to be crowned Six Nations winners but Scotland still have a slim chance of causing a shock upset.
If Gregor Townsend’s side manage a win over Wales at the Principality Stadium, they would then have to hope Ireland lose to Italy, then draw with France in Paris.
Scotland would also need England to suffer an unlikely defeat against bottom side Italy when the postponed fixture is given the green light.
Wales head coach Wayne Pivac will be hoping to stop the rot and end on a positive note after his side lost three matches in the competition for the first time since 2007 following defeat by England.
The 2019 Six Nations champions have recorded just one win during this year’s tournament, opening their campaign with a 42-0 victory over Italy in February.
If Wales secure victory in Cardiff over Scotland, and Ireland lose both their games in hand against Italy and France, then Welsh pride would be somewhat restored with a third-placed finish.
However, Wales could end up bottom of the championship if they lose to Scotland and the Italy stage an almighty comeback and win both of their rescheduled games against Ireland and England.
How many bonus points are on offer?
The bonus-points system was introduced to the Six Nations in 2017 and a change from two to four points for a win to “encourage and reward try scoring and attacking play”.
One bonus point is awarded for scoring four tries or more and for losing by a margin of seven points or fewer.
Two points are given for games that end in a draw.
Three bonus points are also awarded to a team that wins all five matches and achieves a Grand Slam, which France would have been a step closer to had they beaten Scotland in round four.
Coronavirus: When will postponed matches be played?
The tournament has been hampered by the spread of coronavirus, with Italy the worst-hit European country with more than 7,000 cases.
There are no confirmed dates as to when the postponed fixtures will take place.
The final game of the tournament between France and Ireland was the latest fixture to be postponed on Monday.
The French sports minister Roxana Maracineanu announced the decision to postpone after an “agreement with the French Rugby Federation and tournament organisers”.
Ireland’s match against Italy at the Aviva Stadium, which was scheduled to take place on 7 March, was the first game to be called off in February, with Ireland’s chief medical officer saying the call to postpone was “not made lightly”.
Six Nations officials then made the decision to postpone Italy’s fixture with England at Stadio Olimpico in Rome on 14 March.
The announcement was made after the Italian government ordered all sporting fixtures in the country to be held behind closed doors until 3 April as part of measures to contain the outbreak.
England’s final match postponed in Women’s Championship
In the Women’s Six Nations Championship, England are eight points clear at the top of the table after winning their first four matches but have been made to wait to secure a second successive Grand Slam.
They beat Wales 66-7 at Twickenham Stoop at the weekend to secure the Triple Crown but their final round match with last year’s runners-up Italy has already been postponed because of the outbreak.
Second-place France could still win the title with two bonus-point victories from their final matches – if England fail to record a point when their match in Italy is able to be played.
France face Ireland at home on Sunday but their match in Scotland, scheduled for last weekend, was called off after a home player contracted coronavirus.
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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