Leeds confirm eight of their players may have coronavirus

Leeds Rhinos have said eight of their first-team squad are self-isolating after displaying symptoms of the coronavirus.

Saturday’s scheduled Super League clash against Catalans Dragons was postponed when a member of the Rhinos squad started to show symptoms of COVID-19.

The club decided not to make the trip to Perpignan, via a flight to Barcelona, with the the player in question later returning a negative test.

However, Director of Rugby Kevin Sinfield has now confirmed that eight of the Leeds squad are now being tested for the virus and are in quarantine.

“Eight members of the first-team squad and backroom team are currently in self-isolation after showing symptoms of possible coronavirus,” the club confirmed on Tuesday.

Despite the obvious risks of travelling to the South of France at the weekend, RFL Chief Executive Ralph Rimmer confirmed that an investigation will be made as to why the Rhinos failed to fulfil the fixture.

“We’ve applied all the guidelines that the government asked us to observe, and Leeds took a unilateral decision not to travel to that fixture. That will follow due process now,” Rimmer told BBC Radio 5 Live on Sunday.

The rugby league season was officially suspended on Monday until April 3 after the government banned mass gatherings of people.

It remains to be seen how the sport and clubs will survive financially with much uncertainty on how long the COVID-19 pandemic will last.