Durban — The United Rugby Championship has been rocked by the shock postponement of the Sharks v Ulster and Lions v Glasgow Warriors games because of a gastro epidemic in the ranks of the Ulster and Glasgow teams.
The teams from Belfast and Glasgow respectively have been based north of Durban to prepare for their round six games against local opposition, but nearly all the players in both squads have come down with illness.
The URC has not given a reason for the sudden epidemic, but immediate speculation goes to the problems the greater Durban coast is experiencing because of sewage flowing into the sea from rivers.
This is an educated guess, but how else do more than 50 players, who are staying in different hotels, all get sick?
At this point, all the URC can say on the matter is the following: “Due to gastroenteritis infections it is not possible for Ulster or Glasgow Warriors to field full playing squads.
“In order to ensure a duty of care towards the players involved and given the medical advice received from all key stakeholders, the United Rugby Championship has made the decision to postpone the fixtures.
“The league will now move to examine potential dates to reschedule the games and will update in due course.”
The postponement is a massive setback for the Sharks in particular as the Ulster game was marked for their annual SharkFest, and an afternoon and evening of family entertainment was organised and now has to be cancelled.
This was also one of the few games where the Sharks could field all of their Springboks, and they now say farewell to those players who next week report to the Springbok training camp.
IOL Sport