The decision to postpone England’s Six Nations trip to Italy could end up costing the Rugby Football Union a £5m jackpot with the tournament organisers on Thursday scrambling to save the championship.

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England’s match in Italy on 14 March was postponed on Thursday, becoming the second game to be called off after Ireland v Italy owing to coronavirus. Had it been ruled the match would take place behind closed doors, and had other results gone their way, England would have been able to claim the title later this month and secure the £5m prize money for the champions. The Rome fixture is now highly unlikely to take place before next season, if at all.

There is now no way England can win the title before the rescheduled fixtures. The squad will disperse after Saturday’s match against Wales at Twickenham and head back to their clubs. The Wales match is not under threat but the RFU has rolled out additional health measures to be implemented at Twickenham with 82,000 fans expected.

The organisers are hopeful of avoiding a first uncompleted tournament since 1972 but Ireland’s trip to France on 14 March could yet become the third match to be postponed. If the tournament is not completed the £16m in total prize money could be shared more evenly than the initial intended split, or used to compensate the unions who lose out on ticket revenue, which would also hit the RFU’s finances. England’s fifth place in the Six Nations was blamed for the RFU posting a loss in their 2018 accounts while coming second last year contributed to a return to profit.

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With no signs of the coronavirus relenting and a cluttered calendar there appear to be no available weekends for England to face Italy until after they return from the two-Test tour of Japan in early July. Playing the match then would raise concerns over player welfare, however. Next season is more likely, though fitting Test matches around the domestic fixture list will be no easy task.

The England fly-half George Ford said there are more important things in life than the rest of the Six Nations. “There are rugby games and then there are other things going on in the world that are more important. There are bigger things than rugby and sport that are more critical than us playing in a rugby game.”