The even matches across the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup which were postponed in December because of France’s travel restrictions have now been cancelled and declared as draws.

The games were postponed before Christmas when France essentially closed their border to the UK amid concerns surrounding the rise of the Covid-19 Omicron variant.

Initially, the tournament organisers had wanted the matches replayed, but on Tuesday EPCR organisers confirmed it is impossible to reschedule the affected fixtures and therefore declared that the seven matches – Bath vs La Rochelle, Sale vs Clermont, Scarlets vs Bordeaux-Bègles, Toulouse vs Wasps, Stade Français vs Bristol Bears in the Champions Cup, and Worcester Warriors vs Biarritz and London Irish vs Brive in the Challenge Cup – will not be replayed at a later date and will each instead be classed as a 0-0 draw.

In a statement, the EPCR said it had “regrettably” decided to cancel the postponed fixtures:

“The board has also authorised the EPCR Executive to determine the outcome of the fixtures as provided for in the rules of the tournaments and the EPCR Executive has decided that the appropriate solution is to record the results in each of the five Champions Cup and the two Challenge Cup fixtures in question as 0-0 draws with two match points awarded to each club.”