WATCH: Munster Rugby players to begin Covid-19 testing next week

The Irish Rugby Football Union have confirmed that they will commence a programme of PCR testing of its senior professional players and high performance staff from Leinster and Munster ahead of their planned return to their respective High Performance Centres next week.

The nationally coordinated PCR testing programme is being carried out by Cork based company Advanced Medical Sciences. Players, coaches and support staff will undergo a swab test which indicates the presence of the COVID19 virus.

Before being permitted entry to the HPC, each player – who must travel alone and already be in their training kit – must complete a daily questionnaire at check-in, before having their temperature taken. If, for some reason, the questionnaire raises a concern, this alerts the medical staff to a symptom suggestive of COVID-19 or the player’s temperature is above 37.5°C, a decision will be taken on the next course of action for that player.

Training will also be very different during the initial phase. From Monday, Munster will return in small groups of seven and each pod will work with one designated coach without any interaction with other groups, while there will be stringent hygiene measures in place around the use of gym equipment.

IRFU Medical Director Dr Rod McLoughlin told IrishRugby.ie: “We’re coming from a phase where the players have been in programmes at home training for the last 10-12 weeks and what we’re attempting now to do is bring them together in a safe environment.

“The first week they’ll be brought in in groups of seven with one coach and it’ll be the same seven every day and no group will interact with another group,” Rod continues. “In week two, we will amalgamate two groups and that will become 14 and two coaches will work with that group.

“What we’re doing is trying to minimise the risk as much as we can. We can’t remove 100% of the risk but everything we’re doing is designed to ensure the players and our staff can return to work safely. They will arrive, train and go home. There will be no showers, changing room facilities, kitchen areas or video analysis rooms available.”