Premiership Rugby announce new point system for Covid-19 affected matches

Premiership Rugby has announced a revamped points system for the matches that get affected due to Covid-19.

The earlier system meant the team getting affected due to positive cases of coronavirus were not handed any point while the opponent were awarded a 20-0 bonus-point victory which is equivalent to five points.

With the new season kicking-off on Friday, Premiership Rugby unveiled the new system for games cancelled due to Covid-19 with the team affecting will now be handed two points while the opponent will get four points.

"We effectively had a system that attributed fault," said PRL director of rugby Phil Winstanley.

"The problem with that it is difficult in the current landscape to say that somebody has done wrong and brought Covid to the environment.

"So we have done away with that slightly and now talk about responsibility rather than fault.

"When a club is responsible it feels harsh to take all the points when they've no opportunity to play for those in a replay. Equally it seems harsh to award the opposition five points.

"There is no science behind this but, after having a long debate with all the clubs involved, we feel the fairest way of dealing with this is to award two points to the team that was responsible and four points to the opposition."