Italy-Wales Six Nations game rearranged because of Pope's funeral

Women's Six Nations: Italy v Wales

Venue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Date: Sunday, 27 April Kick-off: 11:30 BST

Coverage: Watch on BBC One Wales, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport online, listen on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru

The Women's Six Nations fixture between Italy and Wales has been switched to Sunday, 27 April (11:30 BST) because of the funeral of Pope Francis.

The two teams were due to meet in Parma at lunchtime on Saturday, 26 April in the final round of the tournament.

But the match will now take place the following day at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, the same venue as originally planned.

The switch comes after the Vatican announced the Pope's funeral will take place at 09:00 BST on Saturday.

Italy's government has declared five days of national mourning up to the funeral taking place.

Speaking on Tuesday before the decision to move their game was made, Wales vice-captain Keira Bevan said the squad were preparing as normal.

The fixture switch is the latest disruption faced by Wales in what has been another disappointing campaign, despite the appointment of new head coach Sean Lynn just before the tournament.

They faced a 13-hour journey to Brive after opting to travel to France on the eve of their match earlier this month, only to be caught up in congestion due to a crash. The delay saw Wales miss their team run through.

Wales have lost all four games in the championship and must beat Italy to have a chance of avoiding finishing bottom of the table for the second year in a row.