Heineken Champions Cup: 'Get creative' over Bristol game, says Scarlets chairman

Scarlets have not played a competitive match since 22 October when they beat Benetton

Scarlets chairman Simon Muderack wants European rugby chiefs to "get creative" and consider rescheduling last weekend's forfeited fixture at Bristol.

Bristol were given a 28-0 win after Scarlets had to quarantine following an abandoned trip to South Africa.

French travel rules have since led to seven European fixtures being postponed this coming weekend - but the plan is to reschedule those matches.

"Let's now try and find a way to play that [Bristol] fixture," said Muderack.

Bristol were awarded the bonus-point win under European Champions Cup rules because Scarlets could not field a team.

The suggestion then was that there was no room in the rugby calendar to re-arrange the game, yet that is the aim for this weekend's postponed games.

Sunday's Scarlets v Bordeaux-Begles game is among seven matches European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) has called off this weekend.

The decision came in the wake of the French government's decision to impose restrictions on travel from the UK amid the rise of Omicron cases.

Muderack argues that Scarlets' quarantine in Belfast after flying out of South Africa was of a similar nature.

"It was really a geo-political issue within the context of a global pandemic that led to the cancellation of that [Bristol] fixture," he said.

"But we were the ones that were ultimately affected. We were penalised for that.

"So with the raft of fixtures that have been cancelled this weekend, I'd like to think now we could all take a step back and get creative."

He added: "A lot could happen. I'd like to think this does re-open the conversation around how we can look at the tournament holistically.

"Clearly I'll be bitterly disappointed now if there's not some form of accommodation in terms of the cancelled fixture against Bristol."

Muderack believes tournament organisers could revamp this season's latter stages to ensure pool games can be fulfilled.

"Hypothetically for example we've got two weekends that are allocated to final 16," he said.

"There could be an argument that we should allow two cancelled rounds or postponed rounds of games to be played over those weekends and maybe go into a final eight.

"That's easy for me to say, but I think, you know, we need to get creative."

Bristol are also without a game this coming weekend as their trip to Stade Francais is among the postponed encounters.

However, Muderack says if EPCR accepted Bristol v Scarlets should be played after all, it would be unrealistic to try to make it happen this weekend.

"Is it worth consideration in some form? Yes, of course it is, but the practical realities are, you know, nigh-but impossible unfortunately," said Muderack.

"Certainly it's an internal conversation for us, but I wouldn't want to set people's expectations that it's a viable option and I wish I could come across as more enthusiastic.

"I'm a can-do person. I'm very creative, I like fighting against the odds and I'm certainly not somebody to leave a stone unturned, but in this instance unfortunately with 24 hours to go that fixture is highly unlikely, if not impossible to see progressing."