Following government health measures, this Tuesday, in a statement, the French Rugby Federation decided to suspend the National Championship in which Stade Niçois is playing its 2020-2021 season.
The news was announced by the president of the French Rugby Federation, Bernard Laporte: “It is not with a light heart that I must make a difficult announcement: as of today, amateur rugby competitions are suspended until January 10, 2021. This suspension is a strict legal requirement.”
The presidents of the 14 rugby clubs in the National division, including Stade Niçois, met to discuss measures to be taken following the re-imposition of lockdown last Friday and the ongoing progression of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Unsurprisingly, the majority of club representatives voted unanimously for a halt in the competition (10 votes to 4). A temporary suspension, from which some will undoubtedly find it difficult to recover.
No more matches for Stade Niçois and other National teams for two months. The players of the Riviera rugby club will be placed on partial unemployment for the entire month of November before training is set to resume in December.
A decision on the format for resuming the competition will be made by the presidents and the federation. A meeting will be held soon to discuss the strategy for completing the season on time.
The message from Bernard Laporte:
