Edinburgh awarded points for cancelled Pro14 game against Benetton

Edinburgh have been awarded four points following their cancelled Pro14 fixture against Benetton Treviso in the round 14 of the competition.

The game was originally scheduled to be played on 7th March but was postponed following a positive case for Covid-19 in the Benetton squad.

With the result from the fixture will not be able to make any difference in the points table, the organisers now have decided to call the game with a 0-0 draw but Edinburgh will be given the four match points as they were not responsible for the postponement of the match.

As a result, Edinburgh finished fifth in Conference B with 29 points while Benetton had failed to win a single game in the 16 matches as they ended the competition sixth in the group with seven points.

“Having consulted with all stakeholders involved, there was unanimous agreement that it was not necessary for the game to be played," read a statement from Pro14.

“As a result, PRO14 Rugby will use the protocol decided prior to the 2020-21 season whereby a game that could not be rescheduled would result in the fixture being deemed a 0-0 draw, but four match points would be awarded to the team who had not been the cause of the postponement.

“This protocol ensures that no artificial scoring points were added to the tries/points for and against columns. As a result, Edinburgh Rugby’s match points total for the campaign will read as 29.”

Tournament director David Jordan had high praises for the clubs to successfully complete the competition on what has been a difficult season due to the pandemic coronavirus crisis.

"We are very grateful to the understanding of the clubs and broadcasters involved that we could find broad agreement not to reschedule this game.

"The result of the fixture would have had no impact on the clubs’ final rankings and, in what has been a very strenous calendar for our teams, coaches, players and match officials, it is positive that we can provide some rest ahead of the Rainbow Cup (a cup competition starting in April which includes South African Super Rugby sides).

"To have played 96 fixtures from a total of 97 at this point in the calendar is a great shared achievement by our clubs, their staff and our medical advisory group.

"Awarding points to a team and declaring the result of a fixture is never an ideal proposition and to have to only do this once in a situation that will have no material effect on the teams involved is tolerable."