Cardiff Rugby are faced with having to play at least 12 matches in the space of 11 weeks as they face up to a chronic fixture backlog.
Dai Young’s team have had yet another match postponed this weekend, with the United Rugby Championship meeting with Zebre at the Arms Park being called off amid a red weather warning due to Storm Eunice.
That comes on the back of a number of their games biting the dust through Covid-related reasons.
It all means they still have 11 URC matches to play by the final round of regular season fixtures on May 21.
Cardiff also have at least one European encounter ahead of them as they are through to the last 16 of the Challenge Cup, with potentially three more knockout matches to follow in that competition.
As it stands, Cardiff have two fixtures to rearrange, with new dates needing to be found for the home Zebre match and the game away to the Dragons, which was originally due to take place at Rodney Parade on New Year’s Day.
The situation is becoming increasingly challenging with few windows of opportunity left in a packed end-of-season schedule.
There is no scope for staging either game during the remaining Six Nations period as they are heading out to South Africa next month to play the two rearranged URC matches that were postponed in November and December due to the Rainbow Nation being placed on the red UK Covid travel list.
Cardiff now have fixtures lined up for nine successive weekends, starting with their trip to Belfast on March 4 for a URC meeting with table-topping Ulster.
That sequence includes a Challenge Cup last 16 tie against as-yet unknown opponents on the weekend of May 6-8.
If they win that game, the scheduling situation will become all the more problematic as the remaining European knockout weekends are the only ones that currently remain vacant as options for rearranging the fixtures that are already outstanding.
Cardiff Rugby Fixtures
Friday, March 4 - Ulster (a, URC)
Sunday, March 13 - Lions (a, URC)
Sunday, March 20 - Stormers (a, URC)
Saturday, March 26 - Glasgow (h, URC)
Saturday, April 2 - Scarlets (a, URC)
Saturday, April 9 - Scarlets (h, URC)
April 15-17 - Challenge Cup last 16
Saturday, April 23 - Ospreys (h, URC)
Friday, April 29 - Munster (a, URC)
May 6-8 - Potential Challenge Cup quarter-final
May 13-15 - Potential Challenge Cup semi-final
Saturday, May 21 - Benetton (a, URC)
Friday May 27 - Potential Challenge Cup final
June 4 - Potential URC quarter-final play-off
To be arranged
Dragons (a, URC)
Zebre (h, URC)
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