Gloucester Rugby will seek compensation from Worcester Warriors for calling off their Premiership match in March at short notice.

Warriors claimed they could not field a team for the Kingsholm fixture on March 25 following a spate of injuries and illness, including Covid-19 cases.

Yesterday an independent panel rejected Worcester's argument, awarding their opponents a 20-0 win and five points.

Lance Bradley, Gloucester chief executive, said the impact of Worcester's decision to cancel was "significant" for the club and both sets of fans.

"We refunded all match ticket holders, season ticket holders, box holders and hospitality guests; all of which resulted in significant financial loss for the club.

"There were also huge financial damages incurred through lost food and drinks sales, not only for Gloucester Rugby, but also for numerous establishments around the city.

"We are pleased the independent panel rejected Worcester's claims that the cancellation was due to Covid-19, and that they did everything they could to field a team. As is evident in the report, clearly neither of these things was the case.

"The club will now seek compensation from Worcester Warriors through the relevant channels."

The panel, appointed by Premiership Rugby to adjudicate on the outcome of the fixture, found Worcester could have done more to secure loan cover for their unavailable front-row players before the 5pm deadline on March 25.

Warriors team manager Luke Broadley sent a WhatsApp message to his Premiership counterparts the day before the game, asking if any loose-head or tight-head props were available. Telephone calls were also made to Championship clubs Hartpury and Cornish Pirates.

At one stage, Gloucester even offered to loan their opponents a loose-head prop. Chairman Martin St Quinton messaged his Worcester counterpart on the morning of the match, voicing concern that a postponement would cost the club £250,000.

Broadley confirmed just before 2pm on the day of the match that Worcester would be unable to field a team.

The panel concluded: "We consider that even reasonable steps to loan a player or players should have involved speaking to more clubs than the two Championship clubs Worcester in fact approached.

"We would conclude that the unavailability of front-row players (and thus the cancellation of the match) was not 'the direct result of Covid-19' nor was it 'related to Covid-19'."

A statement from Warriors said they were disappointed but would not be lodging an appeal against the decision.

It added: "Our sole consideration in the decision that led to the cancellation of the Gloucester match was the welfare and health of our players and staff.

"At no stage did we seek to gain any advantage by cancelling the match. The judgment has, however, highlighted areas in our processes that could be improved."

"Once again we apologise to Premiership Rugby, BT Sport, Gloucester and supporters of both clubs for the inconvenience that was caused by the cancellation."

Punchline says: "The cancellation of this match did not just mean a cost to Gloucester Rugby. There was a large cost to the community.

"There would have been restaurants and pubs that had geared themselves up for this and bought in extra food and supplies and they are also out of pocket.

"The city has a right to feel aggrieved."