The thoughtless actions of twelve rugby players have caused a match between England and the Barbarians to be cancelled at short notice. The match was due to be played at Twickenham on Sunday (25th October 2020) but has been called off because the group of players, who were supposed to be in a bio-secure bubble, went out to a pub and restaurant during the week.
The irresponsible dozen left their hotel to dine at an Italian restaurant in central London on Wednesday night and it later emerged that several of the players had also gone for drinks in a pub the previous evening. The escapades came to light after a picture was posted on social media and the group was sent home in disgrace, having jeopardised the safety of their team mates and future opponents.
The stupidity of the players was rightly condemned from all quarters and hopefully they will face severe disciplinary measures. They were all well aware of the Covid code of conduct and yet brazenly chose to ignore it, setting an appalling example to children and to the long-suffering general public as a whole, who have to endure and respect the restrictions of various tiers of lockdown.
The match was due to be shown live on Sky Sports, but now they have a hole to fill in their schedule, so let’s hope they show something more wholesome and family-friendly than an unsavoury rugby match. Ideally some proper football!