Bath’s Champions Cup fixture against Toulon may never be played after is has emerged that there are no available slots in the calendar to fit in the postponed game, says Bath chairman Bruce Craig
The game was set to be played on Sunday in France and was to be the first ever between the two clubs but following the attacks in Paris that claimed over 100 lives the decision was made to postpone the match.
Craig, who is on the board that are trying to reschedule the match claims that it will be impossible to reschedule the fixture with the aftermath of the World Cup and England’s tour of Australia next year.
“It is very clear to me that the Toulon match can’t happen. There are simply no free weekends available between now and the end of the season. It is unacceptable that the international calendar does not take into account the domestic game. We are playing matches right through the 2016 Six Nations championship to get everything fitted in. There are 33 weekends all accounted for and no slack.”
Speaking to The Telegraph, the official claimed that rearranging the fixture for a mid-week date would not be a feasible solution as it was deemed that the players could not handle three fixtures in a week.
“The midweek option is not an option to my mind as that would be to the detriment of player welfare as well as the integrity of two competitions. There is no way we should be letting that happen. You can’t play three high-profile games in a week.”
The President of Toulon argues that the only acceptable solution would be to play the game during the Six Nations, as long as the national team coaches allow their players to be excused from the tournament.
“Playing on Wednesday isn’t possible, I can only see one solution… It would mean that the (national team) coaches would have to accept not being able to call up international players of Bath or Toulon in order for us to be able to play the match during a matchday of the Six Nations.”
