Wesley Botton

By Wesley Botton

Chief sports journalist


Another France rugby coach tests positive for Covid, but players are all clear

France’s Six Nations players have received the Covid-19 all clear after a second test but a third member of the...


France’s Six Nations players have received the Covid-19 all clear after a second test but a third member of the coaching staff was revealed Wednesday to have produced a positive result.

Forwards coach William Servat emerged as the third case, despite having tested negative 24 hours earlier.

Head coach Fabien Galthie was confirmed to have coronavirus on Tuesday and must isolate for a week. The other positive case has not been identified.

But all of the playing staff tested negative for a second time in additional tests on Tuesday evening.

ALSO READ: France rugby coach Fabien Galthie tests positive for Covid-19

The French Rugby Federation said the positive test for Servat “brings to three the number of positive Covid-19 cases in the camp. Up to now no symptoms have been detected”.

“Additional PCR tests conducted on Tuesday evening indicated that every player was negative, confirming the results from tests taken on Monday.”

The players will undergo another test on Wednesday morning before returning home for a few days off.

They will return to their Marcoussis training base on Sunday to prepare for their next Six Nations match against Scotland in Paris on February 28.

The virus all-clear for the players comes as a welcome boost for the side that now top the Six Nations table after beating Italy and Ireland.

The holding of the Six Nations had been in doubt before it started in early February after the French government called for further guarantees about the competition’s safety protocol.

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