WARRIORS Gallagher Premiership finale with Sale Sharks has been postponed until Wednesday following a number of positive COVID-19 tests at the Greater Manchester side.
Premiership Rugby chiefs revealed their decision after consultation with Sale Sharks, Warriors and Public Health England to ensure the health and wellbeing of all players is protected whilst protecting the integrity of the competition.
While the game has been rearranged for Wednesday evening, the clash is subject to an an additional round of testing to be completed at Sale on Tuesday (October 6).
Public Health England has stressed players involved in the game must test negative to play in the rearranged game before they give the green light for the fixture to go ahead. Sharks and Warriors have also been forbidden to register any new players for the rescheduled fixture
An independent audit of the track and trace processes at Sale will be carried out over the next few days before the game is played.
Darren Childs, chief executive at Premiership Rugby said: “In light of the unprecedented situation facing Premiership Rugby we have been forced to postpone the match.
“Our priority is the health and well-being of everyone involved, and we won’t compromise this. But as this match has such a critical bearing on deciding the Gallagher Premiership Rugby champions, we wanted to do everything we could to play it.
“The team at Premiership Rugby has been working around the clock to come up with a solution and we’d like to thank Public Health England for their co-operation.