Rugby: Ireland side hit by Covid-19 scare ahead of All Blacks test

The Irish rugby team has been struck by a Covid-19 scare ahead of its test against the All Blacks on Sunday morning.

The Ireland Rugby Football Union (IRFU) released a statement early on Saturday NZT revealing there was a "potential positive case" of Covid-19 in the squad.

Additional testing has now been undertaken to establish if the test result could be a false positive and, in the meantime, the rest of the squad and team management have been tested for Covid-19.

"The lateral flow testing returned no positives and the PCR results are expected later today [Saturday]," the statement read.

Assistant coach Simon Easterby said, while no players had been ruled out at present, back-up players had been put on standby should any positive cases be confirmed.

"We've got to make sure that we give those guys an opportunity, in respect of them, that we allow that process to happen," Easterby told the BBC.

"These challenges are part and parcel of the games these days. The important thing is that we stay focused and we don't allow the little things that happen to derail us."

Tadhg Beirne (left) and Jack Conan at the captain's run ahead of Sunday's test. Photo / Photosport

In what would be relieving news for All Blacks fans, Easterby confirmed the news would not force the fixture to be called off but was unnerving for the Irish squad.

"If it wasn't challenging enough, it gets more challenging when you're dealt with things outside of your control," he said.

"I guess that's part of the challenge. The game certainly won't run our way and it won't run smoothly all the time."

Ireland have won two of their past four encounters with the All Blacks and will look to continue that success on Sunday morning.

• Kickoff is at 4.15am on Sunday NZT.