Italy v Wales rearranged due to Pope's funeral

Italy and Wales were originally scheduled to play in the final round of the tournament on Saturday

The Women's Six Nations fixture between Italy and Wales is to be rearranged due to the funeral of Pope Francis.

The two teams were due to meet in Parma at lunchtime on Saturday, 26 April in the final round of the tournament.

But the Vatican has announced the Pope's funeral will take place at 10:00 local time (09:00 BST) that day.

Tournament organisers have yet to confirm when - or where - the game will now go ahead.

Friday evening and Sunday are being considered as options though Italy's government has declared five days of national mourning up to the funeral on Saturday.

Speaking on Tuesday before the decision was made, Wales vice-captain Keira Bevan said the squad was preparing as normal.

She said: "There's nothing we can do right now apart from prepare as if the game is going ahead this weekend.

"We can't think about whether the game is not happening or we could get caught out. We are preparing as normal."

If the game is played on Friday it would mean Wales playing twice in the space of five days, having faced Ireland on Easter Sunday.

It is the latest disruption for Wales during what has been another disappointing campaign despite the appointment of new head coach Sean Lynn just before the tournament.

They faced a 13-hour journey to Brive after opting to travel to France on the eve of their match earlier this month, only to be caught up in congestion due to a crash. The delay saw Wales miss their team run through.

Wales have lost all four games in the championship and must beat Italy to have a hope of avoiding finishing bottom of the table for the second year in a row.