It has been confirmed that Connacht V Ospreys postponed due to Covid-19 cases, the game was due to be played on Saturday 28th November.
One Ospreys player has returned a positive case of Covid-19 and others identified as close contacts are now isolating. Having considered all the available evidence, the PRO14 Rugby
Medical Advisory Group has deemed that this fixture cannot go ahead.
Benetton Rugby, who played against Ospreys on Sunday, carried out routine squad testing this week and returned negative results all round.
PRO14 Rugby will examine potential dates in early 2021 to reschedule the game.
Everyone at Connacht wishes the Ospreys player a speedy recovery and we look forward to welcoming them to The Sportsground early next year.
🚨 | Tomorrow’s game between Connacht and Ospreys has been postponed.
The decision was taken following a confirmed case of Covid-19 and a number of close contacts within the Welsh club.
More: https://t.co/IYRywkldel pic.twitter.com/G3eV0DwqXz
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) November 27, 2020
TV Highlights – Top 10 Sporting Events in December
Top 10 Sporting Events in December: A look into all the sporting events to keep you entertained over the next month and the festive period.
In what has been a tough year for everyone with Covid 19 so we are looking forward to lockdown finishing and enjoying December. A joyful and family orientated holiday that will cheer the population up to take minds off all that is going on.
With current restrictions and more pending come Christmas time indoors will be the safest for all. And for sports fans there will be plenty to dive into this Christmas. With plenty of sports such as football, golf, rugby, horse racing and many more all continuing on.
Lets take a look at the top 10 sporting events this Christmas period.
1 Football – The Premier League
Number one on our list is the worlds most exciting league in football, the English Premier League. The league has always historically continued to have games around the Christmas and New Year period.
Unfortunately for fans the games will likely remain behind closed doors despite popular vaccine news. There will be around 30 matches being shown on tv and streaming platforms from the 26th to 2nd of January.
See below the full list of Premier League fixtures for St Stephens Day will channels yet to be released. All kick offs will then be at 3pm.
Saturday December 26th Fixtures (All 3pm Kick Off)
Arsenal v Chelsea
Aston Villa v Crystal Palace
Fulham v Southampton
Leeds United v Burnley
Leicester City v Manchester United
Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion
Manchester City v Newcastle United
Sheffield United v Everton
West Ham United v Brighton
Wolverhampton v Tottenham Hotspur
Monday, December 28, 2020 (all 3pm kick-offs)
Brighton v Arsenal
Burnley v Sheffield United
Chelsea v Aston Villa
Crystal Palace v Leicester City
Everton v Manchester City
Manchester United v Wolverhampton
Newcastle United v Liverpool
Southampton v West Ham United
Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham
West Bromwich Albion v Leeds United
Saturday, January 2, 2021 (all 3pm kick-offs)
Brighton v Wolverhampton
Burnley v Fulham
Chelsea v Manchester City
Crystal Palace v Sheffield United
Everton v West Ham United
Manchester United v Aston Villa
Newcastle United v Leicester City
Southampton v Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur v Leeds United
West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal
2 GAA – All Ireland Championships
Ranking at number two for GAA fans is the All Ireland Football and Hurling Championship finals. The Football final will take place on Saturday the 19th of at 5:00pm. The Hurling final will take place at 3:30pm on the 13th of December.
With semi finals of both championships still underway its undecided who will then be in the finals. In the football, Dublin, Cavan, Tipperary and Mayo are the semi finalists. Whilst over in the Hurling Kilkenny, Limerick, Galway and Waterford will all be in with a chance.
Both fixtures will be live on Sky Sports and RTE. However, the coverage times are to be announced.
Saturday 13th Of December – All Ireland Hurling Championship
Kilkenny/Waterford v Limerick/Galway – 3:30pm RTE/Sky Sports
Saturday 19th Of December – All Ireland Football Championship
Dublin/Cavan v Mayo/Tipperary – 5:00 pm RTE/Sky Sports
3 PDC World Darts Championship
Ranking in at number three during the Christmas period for darts fans is the PDC World Darts Championship. The annual tournament will begin this year from Friday the 18th of December to Monday the 4th of January.
Current reining champion Peter Wright be looking to retain the title this year. Unfortunately, the Alexandre Palace will be quiet this year with covid 19 without its usual rocking crowds.
The tournament will be then broadcast live on Sky Sports all through Christmas and then via live stream on PDC’s own site.
However times for the broadcast are pending an announcement.
Friday December 18th – Monday January 4th
2021 PDC World Darts Championship – Sky Sports / PDC Live stream
4 Boxing – Anthony Joshua versus Kubrat Pulev
Coming in at number four on the list is the long awaited fight between Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev. Joshua is due to defend his WBA ‘super’ IBF and WBO belts against IBF against Kubrat Pulev this December.
Joshua battled hard last year to regain his titles after his rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr. However, The Englishman and current title holder can’t afford any slip ups against Pulev.
Although, If Joshua is to win it sets up a clash of titans of Joshua versus Fury next year. This would allow the winner to unify all belts and become the undisputed champion of the world.
The fight takes place in the O2 Arena on December 12th. The fight will be shown live on Sky Sports Box Office.
Sunday December 12th
Anthony Joshua versus Kubrat Pulev – Sky Sports Box Office
5. Rugby – Pro 14
Fifth on our list for Rugby fans is the rugby pro 14. The Pro 14 have recently announced their Christmas period fixtures this week. This coming after multiple games have been postponed and rescheduled.
However, with the new Christmas fixtures confirmed postponed matches from rounds 4 and 6 were then slotted in. These postponed games being the clashes of Connacht versus Benetton and Glasgow vs Dragons.
The biggest fixture of the Christmas period being Leinster taking on Munster on St Stephens Day.
Both TG4 and Premier Sports will be the flagship stations broadcasting most games during this time. See the full list of games for the festive period below.
Saturday, December 26 –
Zebre v Benetton Rugby, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, 2pm local time (live on DAZN/Premier Sports)
Dragons v Cardiff Blues, Rodney Parade, 3pm (live on S4C/Premier Sports)
Ospreys v Scarlets, Liberty Stadium, 5.15pm (live on Premier Sports)
Munster V Leinster, Thomond Park, 7.35pm (live on eir Sport)
Sunday, December 27 –
Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh, Scotstoun Stadium, 3pm (live on Premier Sports)
Connacht V Ulster, the Sportsground, 7.35pm (live on TG4/Premier Sports/eir Sport)
Friday, January 1 –
Scarlets v Dragons, Parc y Scarlets, 5.15pm (live on S4C/Premier Sports)
Cardiff Blues v Ospreys, venue tbc, 7.35pm (live on Premier Sports)
Saturday, January 2 –
Benetton Rugby v Zebre, Stadio di Monigo, 2pm local time (live on DAZN/Premier Sports)
Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors, BT Murrayfield, 3pm (live on Premier Sports)
Ulster V Munster, Kingspan Stadium, 5.15pm (live on Premier Sports/eir Sport)
Leinster V Connacht, the RDS, 7.35pm (live on eir Sport/Premier Sports)
6. Horse Racing – Leopardstown Christmas Festival
Sixth on our list is the annual horse racing event of the Leopardstown Christmas Festival. The big event will run for four days over the festive period. The glamorous event will run from the 26th to 29th of December.
Crowds will be desperately missed with the usual music, entertainment and the National Racing Hunt all gone as a result. However, during the cold days of winter gives fans can watch from the comfort of their homes.
The Festival features 7 Grade 1 races over the four days, including the Grade 1 Racing Post Novice Steeplechase on Thursday 26th December then The Paddy Power Steeplechase on Friday 27th December, The Grade 1 Savills Chase on Saturday 28th December and a Grade 1 Matheson Hurdle on Sunday 29th December.
RTE will be showing live coverage of this fabulous event. However, times of coverage time are yet to be announced.
December Thursday 26th – Sunday 29th
First Race 12.00pm, Last Race 3.30pm – RTE/RTE Player
7 Formula 1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
At number seven on our list is the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for all the motor heads to get into. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix looks to end the 2020 season 12 days before Christmas on the 13th of December.
However, with Covid 19 postponing some races this year it will then be the shortest finish to a season since 1963. The Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi could make a record breaking week for Englishman Lewis Hamilton.
He will be looking to be crowned official World Champion for a record 7th time tied with Michael Schumacher.
With recent news from England suggesting he will then receive a knighthood for his achievement having been recommended by Boris Johnson.
Saturday December 11th – Monday the 13th
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Sky Sports F1 8:30pm.
8 Golf – European Tour DP Championship
The climax of the European Tour season reaches it’s conclusion with Race to Dubai in the World Tour DP Championship. However, Originally meant to be played back in November the event has since then pushed back to December due to covid.
The event boasts the biggest prize fund on the tour with an estimated 8.5 million in prize money. The event will take place from Thursday the 10th of December to Sunday the 13th. American Patrick Reed sits top of the Race to Dubai rankings on 2,200,883 million earned.
However, Sitting just behind him in close second is this years PGA Championship winner Collin Morikawa on 1,712,886 million.
It will be an exciting end to the golfing calendar year with Reed looking to win his first Race to Dubai.
The golf will then be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Golf. However, golf will start at an early time of 7:00am for early risers due to time difference.
Thursday December 10th – Sunday December 13th
DP World Championship – 8pm Sky Sports Main Event/ Sky Sports Golf 7:00AM
9 Cricket – Big Bash Australia
For anyone that has not watched Twenty20 or even Cricket, this tournament will get you interested. Great news for the cricket fans across the globe as the schedule and venues for Australia’s most-watched sporting competition, the Big Bash League (Dec 10, 2020-Feb 06, 2021) have been confirmed.
With over 60 high-octane matches, there will be no dearth of high-level cricket in Australia as all KFC BBL clubs will host matches in their local markets, however is subject to the public health situation. Australia currently has just around 2,000 active Covid-19 cases which has allowed cricket, both international and domestic, to go ahead.
The league, which has previously seen the inception of quirky additions like the bat flip and zing bails, has made quite a few changes this year as well.
Thursday December 10th – Saturday February 6th
Big Bash Australia – BT Sport
10 Snooker – World Grand Prix
Ranking in at number ten is the Snooker Grand Prix. The event ranks at eleventh highest in the Snooker calendar. The event will take place over six days from December 14th to the 20th of December.
This years event will mark the 7th edition of the competition with its first back in 2014/15. World number 3 Australian Neil Robertson is the current champion, looking to defend his title.
The event will be then held in Milton Keynes with live television coverage from ITV 4. However, exact times in relation to the coverage has yet to be confirmed.
Tuesday December 14th – Monday the 20th
Snooker World Grand Prix – ITV 4
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