Rugby-French sports ministry hoping isolation measures can be lifted as European Cup looms

Travellers from the UK must self-isolate upon arrival on French territory but the quarantine can be waived after 48 hours on presentation of a negative COVID-19 test. The Sports ministry said that a meeting would take place on Tuesday, adding that the situation of English clubs coming to France would be on the agenda.

The French sports ministry is hoping that a 48-hour isolation period when entering the country from Britain can be lifted for sports teams ahead of a round of rugby's European Champions Cup at the weekend. Travellers from the UK must self-isolate upon arrival on French territory but the quarantine can be waived after 48 hours on presentation of a negative COVID-19 test.

The Sports ministry said that a meeting would take place on Tuesday, adding that the situation of English clubs coming to France would be on the agenda. "The issue of the 48-hour isolation on entry for English clubs will be discussed this afternoon as part of a more general meeting on the subject of the United Kingdom by the Interministerial Crisis Center," the ministry wrote in a statement to Reuters.

"The Ministry of Sports is arguing that the bubble and the reinforced health protocol around the teams once on French territory allows for this mandatory isolation to be lifted." Five Champions Cup matches were postponed last December after the French government introduced new travel curbs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the time, France had banned non-essential travel to and from the UK and had tightened testing requirements for travellers. Among the games at risk this weekend in the third round of matches are Stade Rochelais v Bath and Clermont v Sale.