Former England captain Chris Robshaw is among 11 others receiving criticism for breaking their quarantine rules ahead of Sunday’s Barbarians fixture against England at Twickenham.

The 34-year-old Harlequins legend was reportedly one of 12 Barbarians players who went out together on Wednesday which did not adhere to the strict Covid-19 regulations which has put the weekend’s fixture in doubt.

The Barbarians have denied the night out involved heavy drinking but have banished the 12 players from the squad and are now looking for adequate replacements.

So far the other players dropped are thought to be Richard Wigglesworth, Sean Maitland and Jackson Wray of Saracens as well as Bath’s Tom de Glanville.

An RFU statement read: “On the evening of 21 October a number of Barbarians players breached the agreed Covid code of conduct protocol by leaving their hotel bubble without permission and without informing organisers about their whereabouts.

“On their return, the players were immediately separated from the rest of the group in the bubble in order to protect its integrity.

“If sufficient new players with an appropriate testing history and who have been meeting the code of conduct standards can be brought into the Barbarians camp then the game will go ahead. 

“The RFU scheduled the Barbarians fixture for performance purposes in order to provide a warm-up game ahead of the postponed Italy v England Six Nations decider, however it will not compromise the safety of players to do so.”

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