​​The European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) has temporarily shifted the dates for matches that were scheduled to hold on the 16th and 23rd of January.
This move was triggered by the suggestion of the French government this Saturday that their teams suspend across-border matches for now due to the new strain of Covid-19.
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The ECPR released a statement which read "Following a directive from the French authorities that the participation of TOP 14 clubs in the Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup at the current time constitutes too great a public health risk, EPCR has no choice but to announce that the 2020/21 tournaments are temporarily suspended.

"EPCR and the Ligue Nationale de Rugby took part in a meeting by the audio conference last week with representatives of the French ministries of the Interior, Health and Sport, as well as of the President's office.
"Notable updates to EPCR's COVID-19 protocols were presented to the French authorities, including the addition of PCR tests no earlier than three days before matches in the tournaments, conforming to French government guidelines and supplementing the existing, meticulous contact tracing measures put in place with a view to limiting the risk of transmission.

"Against the backdrop of the recent detection of a new strain of coronavirus, the French government has directed that French clubs postpone their participation in EPCR's tournaments for the month of January, both for matches scheduled in France and for those due to be played in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
"On the basis of this directive, EPCR had no choice but to temporarily suspend the pool stage of the Heineken Champions Cup and the preliminary stage of the Challenge Cup."

Bristol’s director of rugby, Pat Lam, opined that fixtures for the premiership be moved forward so as to avoid cramping of fixtures when rugby comes back to play.
Darren Childs the Chief Executive of the English Premiership explained that everyone’s well-being is to be considered at a time as this and it was a good opportunity for the players, management, staff, and match officials to rest.