The latest rugby postponement leaves the Six Nations pondering when to reschedule three matches that will be pivotal in deciding this year's champion.
As it stands, England, France and Ireland, who have two matches to play, all remain in contention for the title.
At this stage October 31 is the expected window to stage England against Italy and France against Ireland, but another weekend will be required for Ireland to face Italy.
A Six Nations statement read: "Following instructions received from the authorities in France, the decision has been made to postpone the Round 5 Guinness Six Nations match between France and Ireland. We are still awaiting confirmation for the women's and U20's fixtures."
Wales and Scotland is scheduled to go ahead as planned in Cardiff this weekend, with the Welsh Rugby Union yet to be told otherwise by either tournament organisers or the British Government.
Wales women's match with Scotland will not proceed, however, after a Scottish player was last week found to have contracted coronavirus.
On Tuesday (NZT) a number of English sporting bodies met with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, where the Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney said there was "no medical rationale" to postpone or play fixtures in the UK behind closed doors, despite the number of UK coronavirus cases rising to 319 which includes three deaths.
"The basic message coming out of today is let's not panic, let's monitor the situation and carry on as normal," Sweeney said.
Joe Marler incident divides opinion:
No matter where you sit on the Joe Marler fondling incident, it's clear the middle ground is fast evaporating.
Outrage ensued after Marler touched Alun Wyn Jones' genitals in the early stages of England's 33-30 victory over Wales at Twickenham.
The England prop has since been cited, along with team-mates Courtney Lawes and Manu Tuilagi for separate incidents. All three will appear before a disciplinary hearing in Dublin on Friday (NZT).
Depending on where you sit Marler is either a sexual predator or a lost character in the modern game.
In the world of moral extremism, there appears no place for considered debate.
Gareth Thomas, the Welsh centurion who in 2009 announced he was gay, felt the wrath of social media scorn for this initial reaction to the incident.
"It would've never have happened in my day and I'm really upset about that — because if it had I would have never retired," Thomas joked, before issuing a follow up apology to anyone he offended.
The serious side of the Marler matter is he may have played his last test at Twickenham. He faces a possible 12 week ban at the lower end of the sanctioning spectrum and is unlikely to find any favours with his poor disciplinary history threatening to send him back into international retirement (Marler retired from test rugby for 10 months before returning for last year's World Cup).
The push for global audiences leaves Marler vulnerable.
In this case, Wyn Jones' reaction ultimately sets the tone.
The Welsh captain clearly wasn't impressed, believing Marler intended to provoke him into a reaction that would then see him sanctioned.
While some of his off-beat interviews are amusing, Marler's perception is not helped by previous comments in which he admitted irrationally seeking red cards during games in order to avoid playing for England due to anxiety created by having to leave his family.
Rugby needs characters but Marler's playful tickle will not be accepted in today's professional modern game.
Eddie Jones should be fined:
Irresponsible is the only way to describe Eddie Jones' post match tirade at New Zealand referee Ben O'Keeffe.
Jones claimed O'Keeffe's decision to send off Manu Tuilagi in the closing stages of England's victory at Twickenham for his no arms shoulder hit on Welsh wing George North was "absolute rubbish".
No doubt Tuilagi faced a near impossible task in attempting to stop the diving North. This try-scoring instance occurs in almost every rugby match.
Tuilagi's failure to try use his arms, however, left O'Keeffe no choice. Under the current framework if a tackle is deemed to be a shoulder charge, and it then makes contact with the opponent's head, no mitigating circumstances can be applied.
The precedent was set last August when Scott Barrett copped a red card in the first half of the All Blacks heavy defeat to the Wallabies in Perth.
Attacking the referee in such fashion as Jones did only serves to project misinformation and heap further pressure on officials even when the correct decisions are made.
Jones' call for commonsense to be applied holds merit but he should learn the rules before attacking individuals.
