LAST UPDATE | 4 Mar 2020

ITALY’S GUINNESS SIX Nations clash with England at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on 14 March will either have to be played behind closed doors or postponed after the Italian government announced supporters will not be permitted to attend any sporting events in the country until at least 3 April due to concerns over the coronavirus.

The Six Nations will issue a statement tomorrow (Thursday) in response to the Italian government’s confirmation of a 30-day supporter ban issued on Wednesday evening, but measures will now need to be taken one way or the other if the fixture — as well as its Women’s and U20s equivalents — are to take place as scheduled in 10 days’ time.

In a statement released on Monday, the Six Nations confirmed that its six national unions would liaise with their respective governments and “strictly follow any directive given that would impact sporting events”.

Italy is the epicentre of Europe’s coronavirus outbreak wherein 107 people have died and over 3,000 people have been infected with Covid-19. The region of Lombardy has been the hardest affected, with further spreads in two northern regions.

The Italian government announced measures on Wednesday which it hopes will help contain the spread of the virus. As well as the nationwide sports stadium/arena ban, schools and universities have been ordered to close until 15 March.

Serie A football, meanwhile, is set to resume in empty grounds this weekend after its schedule was pushed back a week. Juventus’ top-of-the-table Derby d’Italia clash with Inter is one of the fixtures which, per reports in Italy, will go ahead a week later than planned.