United Rugby Championship: Ulster reveal 29 players and 13 staff were hit by illness which forced postponement

Ulster were scheduled to face the Sharks in Durban on Saturday

Ulster have said that 29 players and 13 support staff suffered the outbreak of illness which forced the postponement of their game against the Sharks.

"Independent medical testing confirmed both E. coli and Norovirus in tested samples," said an Ulster statement.

Ulster said "all precautionary medical, nutritional, and Public Health advice was adhered to prior to any member of the travelling group falling ill".

Coach Dan McFarland described the level of sickness as "unprecedented".

The Ulster coach added that it was "disappointing, especially given how unwell our group was, that some chose to question the reasoning for our game to be postponed, as we have invested a lot as a group and an organisation in getting this fixture played".

Ulster were scheduled to face the Sharks in Durban a week after beating the Lions on the first match of their South African trip.

Ulster's statement added that the travelling squad will arrive back in Belfast on Monday afternoon before starting preparations "later this week" for next Saturday's game against Munster at Thomond Park.

"With players and staff now recovering, we are focused on getting home to start preparations for our upcoming Interpro fixture at Thomond Park," added McFarland.

Glasgow's contest against the Lions in Johannesburg also had to be postponed because of a similar outbreak of illness in the travelling Warriors squad.