Coronavirus: Seven Premiership Rugby players test positive and will now isolate

13 Premiership Rugby players have tested positive for coronavirus in the last two weeks as the sport aims to return on 14 August

Seven Premiership players have tested positive for coronavirus in the second round of testing ahead of the sport’s resumption, with two club staff also being forced into self-isolation.

The latest figures emerge after 856 tests were carried out over the last week, taking the total number of positive results to 13 players and six non-playing staff members.

A Premiership Rugby statement read: “Premiership Rugby can today confirm that on Monday 13 July, 856 players and club staff were tested as part of the PCR COVID-19 screening programme. Of these, nine people have tested positive. Of those nine, seven were players and two non-playing staff.

“Players or club staff who have tested positive and their close contacts will now isolate and be assessed in line with the PHE-agreed guidelines.”

The league will announce their coronavirus testing results each week ahead of the season restart, which is scheduled for 14 August after clubs returned to training last month. However, most only received the go-ahead to start close-contact training in small groups and teams at the start of the month, as it involved implementing a comprehensive league-wide testing programme to try and keep the spread of the virus to a minimum.

Professional rugby will resume two months later than Premier League football in the UK, which is why test results have only just started to be released now that there is a return date to work towards. The current numbers reflect a similar number to that of the Premier League’s results, with the top flight of football recording eight positive tests from its first two rounds of testing that featured a similar number of overall tests.

However, with the Premier League much further down the line in terms of its coronavirus testing programme - they have now completed 12 rounds since mid-May - they are now testing around twice as many individuals each week with between zero and two positive test results for the last nine rounds.