Munster's Stephens' Day United Rugby Championship clash with Leinster has been postponed, due to the high number of COVID cases currently in the Leinster camp.
It's the second consecutive year the fixture has been postponed, with last year's Christmas game also off due to a COVID scare in the Blues' squad, and a delay in PCR testing.
It's expected this year's event will now be rescheduled for the beginning of next year, negative tests dependent.
The province has had a COVID outbreak for the last week and a half, with last weekend's Champions Cup game against Montpellier called off, and a 28-0 bonus-point win awarded to the French side.
It's a decision which Leinster are due to contest, as all Anglo-French games in the competition postponed due to travel restrictions between the two countries, as the increasing threat of Omicron continues to wreak havoc with sporting fixtures in the run-up to Christmas.
Last weekend saw six Premier League games postponed due to COVID cases in squads, with Arsenal's win over Leeds United the only Saturday fixture to take place.
This game will too be postponed, with a number of cases still in the camp.
A statement from Leinster Rugby expressed their 'regret' in having to postpone the game, and says the first-team squad will be back training next Tuesday (28 December) at its UCD base, ahead of a New Year’s Day game against Ulster.
