It was widely predicted, and we suggested this may happen ourselves, but the late decision to call off Ireland against France has caused mayhem in Paris.
All week the freezing conditions threatened Ireland’s game against France but we were assured by all concerned that the game would go ahead. Even without undersoil heating at Stade de France the cover was supposed to do the trick.
Referee Dave Pearson gave the go ahead for the game two hours before kickoff but temperatures continued to fall and the freshly unveiled turf quickly froze.
As a result the ground became rock hard and for safety reasons the game had to be abandoned. To do it just two minutes before kick-off was hardly ideal and we are being told that the game will now be played on Friday March 2.
This is of no consolation to those who paid to travel to France even if their tickets are reusable for the re-fixture.
The crowd in the stadium are far from happy, even after another announcement by the officials, but this situation was foreseen for a while and surely this should have been decided at least this morning, if not earlier in the week.
What a mess and all, probably, avoidable.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
