PRO14 Rainbow Cup: Benetton book final berth after COVID cancellation

Benetton will now play the winners of the PRO14 Rainbow Cup SA in the final on June 19 after their last round-robin match was cancelled.

Their prospective opponents, Ospreys suffered a COVID-19 outbreak in their camp and were forced to pull out of the fixture. The Welsh club returned three positive COVID-19 results, and all members of their squad and coaching staff are now in isolation.

Benetton book PRO14 Rainbow Cup final berth

PRO14 Rugby said in a statement: “As a result of the cancellation, Benetton Rugby have qualified for the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup final on 19 June.

“Ospreys Rugby are working closely with Public Health Wales following the latest round of COVID-19 testing at the club, which returned three positive results.

“The decision to cancel the game is a result of the mandate from Public Health Wales that all individuals who were part of the travelling party from the previous fixture are now required to self-isolate in line with public health protocols.

“With no available weekends remaining, the game will not be rescheduled.

“As a result, PRO14 rugby will use the protocol decided prior to the 2020/21 season whereby a game that could not be rescheduled would result in that fixture deemed a 0-0 draw, but four match points would be awarded to the team who had not been the cause of the postponement.

“In this case, Benetton will receive four match points. This protocol ensures that no artificial scoring points were added to the tries/points for and against columns.”

Home final

Adding four points to Benetton’s current total of 18 will provide the Italian team with a final standing of 22 points. It is mathematically impossible for any other team in the table to win more than 20 points now.

The final will be staged at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo in the Treviso frazione of Monigo, Italy. Benneton’s home ground. They are set to face either the Bulls or the Sharks in that match on 19 June 2021.