WATCH: Wakefield Trinity consider imposing own lockdown after two more positive Covid results

WAKEFIELD Trinity head coach Chris Chester says the club might impose its own lockdown to deep clean their facilities after they saw another two players test positive for Covid and “lose half our team” for tomorrow’s game against Wigan Warriors.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

It is the third time Trinity have seen players test positive with six now having contracted the virus at some point since the sport resumed last month.

Wakefield, who are on a six-game losing streak, have had to call Matty Ashurst back in off paternity leave to play in tomorrow night’s fixture.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Chester had been looking forward to a raft of players returning following self-isolation only to be hit with the latest news.

“There’s been a couple of positives and probably seven or eight players we've had to stand down off the back of that,” he said.

“So it’s been another challenging week for obvious reasons.

“We’ve had to bring Matty Ashurst back into the fold - literally he’s just had our team run.

“We’d been waiting for a decision on one player who’s already tested positive in the past to see if he’d be able to take part but we’ve just found he can’t.

Wakefield Trinity head coach Chris Chester (PIC: JONATHAN GAWTHORPE)Wakefield Trinity head coach Chris Chester (PIC: JONATHAN GAWTHORPE)
Wakefield Trinity head coach Chris Chester (PIC: JONATHAN GAWTHORPE)
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Matty’s wife just had their baby on Monday. Last night I had 16 players and had to make a phone call to him to say ‘can you come and join us for a team run?'

“But he’s fit and ready to go.”

The Wigan game goes ahead but Chester says the Super League club are now contemplating taking matters into their own hands.

“These things just keep happening and it (Covid) keeps lingering,” he said.

“We need to have a look at what we’re doing out on the field and whether we’re doing everything to minimise it.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“All the players need to look at what they’re doing away from the club as well.

“Whether it means a five day total lockdown within ourselves and literally staying at home to give this place a real deep clean we’ll have to see.

“If that's what it takes then we’ll have to do that; just lock ourselves down for five days and fingers crossed it works for us.”

Chester confirmed England winger Tom Johnstone would return from his elbow injury but added: “These are challenging times.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It’s hard work. You prepare for a game for a Friday and then half of your team get pulled from underneath your feet within 24 hours.

“We’re just fortunate that we have some depth within the squad.

“We’ve still got a very good competitive squad out there.”

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.