Ireland unhappy with rescheduled date
Wednesday 15 February 2012
Ireland are unhappy with Six Nations Ltd's decision to play their rescheduled match with France on Sunday, March 4.
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) were hoping for the match to be played a day earlier, as the change to the schedule means they must play Scotland six days after visiting Paris for the second time this championship.
The Round Two fixture in Paris was postponed over the weekend after sections of the Stade de France pitch was frozen and deemed too dangerous for the players.
"We are disappointed with this decision," read a press statement released by the IRFU.
"While understanding the difficulties that a postponed game brings to the international and club rugby schedule, the IRFU had proposed to the Six Nations that the preferred alternative date would be Saturday March 3 with an afternoon kick-off.
"This was based on providing the Ireland team, who will be travelling for a second time to Paris, with a seven day turnaround between its remaining four fixtures in the tournament.
"It would also provided any supporters wishing to attend the rescheduled game with an appropriate window of travel."
Ireland's players and management will return home immediately after the match, preventing them from attending any functions that evening.
It was revealed that the match could not be held on Saturday, March 3 because the Top 14 has a busy programme of Top 14 fixtures on that day.
French clubs wanted the clash between France and Ireland to take place next season so they would avoid losing their players to another weekend of international rugby, but this option was dismissed.
"We sympathise with the French clubs - it's very difficult for them," Six Nations chief executive John Feehan told PA Sport.
"If we held the match on the Saturday, we would be going head to head with the club game and that would not be the right thing to do for the championship."
Feehan conceded that changes must be made to the current tournament rules which states that only the referee, host union or Six Nations council sitting in its entirety are able to postpone a game.
"We very much regret what has happened. This is not something anybody would have planned for or would have wished to happen," he said.
"It's deeply disturbing. It's terrible that it happened.
"It has happened and we've got to look at how it happened and make sure it doesn't reoccur."
"We're going to have to revisit our procedures for calling a game off."
