Cornish Pirates match postponed after Covid cases

Third-placed Cornish Pirates have not played a match since 11 December

Cornish Pirates' match against Ealing Trailfinders has been postponed after a number of Covid-19 cases in the Pirates squad.

The decision was taken by the Rugby Football Union "to ensure that the health and wellbeing of all players and support staff is protected".

The Championship match at top of the table Ealing was scheduled for New Year's Day.

It is the third successive Pirates match to be postponed due to Covid.

Both Richmond on 18 December, and Hartpury on Boxing Day had positive cases within their squads.

Cornish Pirates CEO Rebecca Thomas said: "Covid numbers have been increasing across the country so it's not something that we thought we would escape."

The Boxing Day postponement "has had a huge financial impact" as it "would have been our biggest crowd of the season", she said.

There is now a further two-week break in the season, with the next Pirates fixture scheduled for 22 January against Nottingham.