France head coach Fabien Galthie cleared of wrongdoing after Covid outbreak inquiry

France head coach Fabien Galthie has been cleared of any wrongdoing by an internal investigation into the handling of a Covid-19 outbreak within the Six Nations squad, the head of the French federation's (FFR) medical committee has said.

"In my report, I mention it at the start, it is perfectly clear that what he has done and whatever one might think, he had the right to do what he did, and there was no particular risk," committee head Roger Salamon told French radio RTL on Wednesday.

Galthie was one of five staff members to test positive for Covid-19 after France's second Six Nations game against Ireland, and the tournament organisers decided to postpone last weekend's match against Scotland as 12 players also tested positive.

FFR president Bernard Laporte admitted Galthie had left the training camp's bubble to watch his son's rugby game in Paris, however insisted he was wearing a protective mask and had not broken any rules in the team's Covid protocol.

French sports minister Roxana Maracineanu threatened to withdraw France's authorisation to play in the Six Nations if the investigation was not conducted thoroughly and FFR board of directors member Florian Grill last weekend called for an independent investigation.

A FFR spokesperson told Reuters on Wednesday that the investigation report would not be made public. Les Bleus, who won their first two Six Nations games, travel to England on March 13.

The postponed match between France and Scotland is to be rescheduled to the evening of Friday 26 March. It is understood that despite that weekend hosting a full Premiership rugby fixture list, Scotland coach Gregor Townsend will have all of his England, Wales and France-based players available to him. France will also be at full strength.

Six of the Scotland side which started against Wales play their rugby outside of Scotland, including captain Stuart Hogg at Exeter and playmaker Finn Russell in Paris with Racing 92.

With both Premiership Rugby and the Top 14 clubs previously unwilling to make players available for international matches on designated club dates, any such fixture the weekend after the Six Nations could only take place with the agreement of clubs in France and England.

However, it appears that the Scottish Rugby Union have successfully negotiated a one-off exemption with Premiership Rugby on the grounds of the unique circumstances due to Covid-19, with Scotland coach Gregor Townsend’s determination to maintain good relations with the top English clubs proving the deciding factor.

The FFR have been able to do likewise with the same Top 14 clubs who refused to release its players for their Autumn Nations Cup against England.

If the date is confirmed, the Six Nations Super Saturday finale may no longer decide who wins the title. However, it could also set up a title and Grand Slam decider if France remain unbeaten to that point.

The Scottish Rugby Union has consistently insisted that any date which means Townsend’s side would be weakened and missing key players was a non-starter. But given rugby’s parlous financial position, finding a solution that would avoid repaying any sponsorship or television revenue was in everyone’s interests.

However, between now and any final match of the tournament, France must travel to Twickenham to play England before facing a Wales side that seems certain to be unbeaten and going for a Grand Slam in Paris.