The French Top 14 rugby season is set to become the latest sporting casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic after an agreement was reached to halt the campaign.
Competition organisers, the LNR, have announced that clubs have accepted the season being ended following French prime minister Edouard Philippe's announcement this week that professional sport "will not be able to resume" until September.
“After consultation with the presidents of Top 14 and PRO D2 (second division) clubs, the Board will propose to the LNR Management Committee not to follow up on having playoffs at the end of August to close the 2019-2020 season, to pronounce the end of this 2019-2020 season, and to focus on the organisation of the launch of the 2020-2021 editions of the two championships starting in September 2020,” the LNR said in a statement.
The LNR have not yet decided if champions will be crowned, with Bordeaux Bègles sitting eight points ahead of Lyon before rugby's shutdown in France.
There's also no announcement on relegation and promotion where the top-flight's basement side Stade Francais were just a point behind Agen.
Meanwhile Glasgow boss Davie Rennie feels Leinster should be declared champions of the Guinness PRO14.
"Leinster - unbeaten all year, miles in front - it's hard not to award them the competition, isn't it?" he said when asked what should happen with the rest of the domestic season.
"We're not going to be playing rugby in June. That complicates things but what we really want is some sort of clarity from PRO14 as to what the future looks like. What's their plan?
"At the moment, there's a lot of people dying in this part of the world, there's lots of people that have lost their jobs.
"The importance of us getting back and playing quickly doesn't really rate."
