France / Ireland (Game Postponed)
France and Ireland were supposed to do battle in week 2 of the Six Nations of 2012 at Stade de France, Paris at 22:00 SA Time (20:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was supposed to be broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & SHD on TV in SA.
*******************
Match Postponed:
The playing surface was frozen enough to deem the pitch unsafe.
It appears now that the match will be played on 2 March.
Apparantly – I draw your attention to the fact that Stade de France is apparently built on old industrial site which means no undersoil heating possible.
27 @ Just For Kicks:
That’s what I also mean, everything points to this game going ahead as planned.
Oh my fark…. it has been called off!
Pissies!
Match postponed
32@ grootblousmile:
No its definetly off Gbs, TV feed gone off this side đ
French and Oirish poofters!
Hehehehe
Planned replay for March 2
This reminds me off the trick the Sharks pulled on us last year with the bees.
80000 fans in the stadium now have to go home, they must be a bit pissed off, to say the least!!!
Oh well, getting an early evening then…. hehehe
Was a bloody strange time to start a mid-winter game.
38@ superBul:The guppies will try anything!
ESPN Scrum has it all deurmekaar now the headline says
France v Ireland, Six Nations
Paris clash fails pitch inspection
but the article says
Paris clash passes pitch inspection
The French management team were unpreturbed by the cold in Paris last weekend © Getty Images
The Six Nations clash between France and Ireland in Paris on Saturday night will go ahead after passing a second pitch inspection.
Referee Dave Pearson gave the surface the all-clear on Friday afternoon but was required to carry out a further examination 90 minutes before the scheduled kick off with freezing temperatures engulfing the French capital.
There were boos going around the stadium when they announced it, must have been mainly from French supporters coz the Irish supporters they showed still had big smiles on their faces, guess they made the long trip there so they going to have fun and party anyway, although on Paris prices going to cost them a lot more than they maybe budgeted for. Time to go have a good eve all and hoping for a far better game from Scotland tomorrow!
Well, see guys tomorrow then! I can enjoy being on top of superbru for a whole day more then
@ Just For Kicks:
Just joking, but that was quite a mess.
G,night all
Yup, off to bed too, in the cellar first thing. Catch up tomorrow afternoon, cheers all
Cheers fellas…. glad we’re in SA!
Sportsbeat – Former Ireland head coach Eddie O’Sullivan believes referee Dave Pearson was caught between a rock and a hard pitch in Paris on Saturday night, claiming calling the game off was the only option.
OâSullivan instead handed the responsibility to the French Rugby Federation (FFR) for the manner in which Franceâs clash with Ireland was called off ten minutes before kick-off.
âObviously you canât blame the referee,â he said.
âIf Dave Pearson had put the players on that surface and a player had got badly hurt, he would have to take the blame for that. He did what was right.
âTo consider there were 80,000 people at the stadium and millions of people watching at home and at the final moment the game was postponed, it beggars belief.
âUltimately itâs down to the French Federation for managing this situation. Then it was left to the referee to make the hard decision.
âThere were no curve balls here. Weâve known for the last few days where we were, yet we reached this stage at the last minute.
âItâs hard to believe that the French Federation couldnât predict this outcome given the bad weather here hasnât changed in the last 72 hours.â
The FFRâs president Pierre Camou expressed his regret for the postponement but didnât completely shoulder the blame.
âWe always take responsibility for the pitches but we are not responsible for the decision to call it off,â said Camou.
âItâs very sad. I donât understand why the referee has not shown up.
âI am worried that two hours before kick-off everything seemed fine. Iâm thinking of all the fans who have come from afar.â
An RBS 6 Nations official added: âIt is very important to let fans know to keep their tickets and they will be valid for the game when we have a new date.â
O’Connell: We wanted to play
ESPNscrum Staff
Ireland skipper Paul O’Connell has claimed that his side were ready and wanted to play in yesterday’s postponed Six Nations clash at the Stade de France.
Referee Dave Pearson called off the match between France and Ireland moments before the 20.00 GMT kick-off with the stadium already nearly full of supporters. And Ireland skipper O’Connell has claimed that his side were preparing to take to the field only to be told by Pearson that the game was off.
“I was kind of aware that there was a patch on the pitch that wasn’t in the best of condition,” O’Connell said. “During the warm-up once or twice I caught a glimpse of Declan [Kidney] and a few officials down there.
“But I was still fairly sure it was going to go ahead. We’d prepared that way – everyone else was preparing that way. Sometimes you say you’re preparing but you kind of know it’s not going ahead.
“We were fairly sure that it was going to go ahead and I’d say it was 30, 60 seconds before we went out that Dave [Pearson], the ref, came in and said it’s not going to go ahead.”
Ireland took to the field once the game had been postponed to try and run off some of their energy with a game of touch and O’Connell has admitted that he felt sorry for the supporters who had travelled to Paris. “Guys were pumped up and they just wanted to do a little bit of fitness,” explained O’Connell. “Unfortunately the crowd then kind of gathered and they asked us to leave because they thought if we left, the crowd might leave.
“We only ended up getting half a session done so that’s just the way it was – a bizarre end to a strange day,”
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