Welsh side have only 14 available players with rest in BelfastClub in
South Africa when stricter travel rules were introducedThe Champions Cup has been rocked by the
Coronavirus pandemic before the opening round of fixtures this weekend with Scarlets forfeiting their match and Cardiff preparing to field a “misfit” team including semi-professionals as Covid-19 once again blights Europe’s elite competition.
Scarlets announced on Tuesday they would not consider any of the 32 players in quarantine until Friday for their fixture at Bristol 24 hours later and as a result that they are unable to field a team, thereby handing the Bears a 28-0 win. Cardiff, meanwhile, have insisted their match against the defending champions, Toulouse, will go ahead but with 42 players and staff in quarantine. The Champions Cup is set to get off to a farcical start.