While many sports clubs will find this period of uncertainty difficult financially, Epping Upper Clapton are in a position to return for next season, whenever that may be.

The RFU announced last week that they were ending all leagues early due to the Coronavirus pandemic, with the exception of the Gallagher Premiership, who are "in active discussions to review possible next steps."

Ending the season at this stage means that Clapton finish bottom of the London 2 North East division with just one win from their 18 games.

Billy Sweeney, CEO of the RFU, said: "In order to provide clarity and to assist with immediate and longer term planning, the Rugby Football Union is announcing the end of the 2019/20 rugby season for all league, cup and county rugby in England. The only exception to this is the Gallagher Premiership, who we are in active discussions with to review possible best next steps.

"When current government advice on social distancing measures changes, we will naturally encourage rugby training and friendlies to recommence.

"We are working through the implications of ending the season early and have instigated a thorough process to ensure fair and balanced outcomes for the game. We will communicate these outcomes by the middle of April. While we would like to provide all the answers now, we need some time to get it right for the best interests of the game. Rest assured we are working on this as a priority and we will continue to send weekly updates to clubs."

While this decision will create challenges, a lot of clubs are in a position to deal with them - one of those being Clapton.

Club spokesman Nick Slate said: “I applaud the fact that they’ve now been decisive. It creates another set of challenges for us but that’s what we’re going to have to work our way around.

“I think really and truthfully they’re more financial than anything. We operate both from our rugby activity but also from our outside letting business which allows us to generate an income which we pour back into the rugby club, or it helps keeps the club going.

"It’s going to challenge us. We’re going to have to get creative. We’ve got some money in the bank. Secondly we have benefactors who are capable of helping us out. It’s about managing cash at the moment and we’re not challenged too much on that."

It has seemed certain for a while anyway that Clapton would be playing in a new division next season.

Planning for next year's campaign had been underway for some time and Slate hopes that crowds will be drawn to the club for the 2020/21 season having been without rugby and sport as a whole for so long during this isolation period.

He said: “It could have a positive impact in that people have had long enough being stir crazy and they get really enthusiastic for the game. The general consensus is that we’ll be out of this by July when next season’s training would be starting.

"We’ll hope that actually there could be positive ramifications for next year because enthusiasm levels are going to be higher once people have had three months of sitting around."