The men’s Barbarians match against Samoa at Twickenham on Saturday was cancelled 90 minutes before kickoff after four players and two members of the staff in the Barbarians camp tested positive for COVID-19, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said.

The Samoan players came out onto the pitch and sang their national anthem to the crowd who did turn up for the game.

“We appreciate that this is an extremely disappointing situation for the many fans due to attend, but the safety of all members of both teams is our priority,” the RFU said in a statement.

“Following consultation with the Barbarians Committee and South Africa, the fixture between Barbarians Women and Springbok Women’s XV will now move to the 2.30 p.m. KO [kickoff] and all tickets purchased are valid for this match.”

The women’s game had been scheduled to start after the men’s match.