Stade de France: Hit by cold weather

Supporters' initial fury at the decision of Dave Pearson to abandon the game 10 minutes before kick-off has been replaced by an acceptance the official had no choice due to certain areas of the pitch being frozen by a week of sub-zero temperatures.

Six Nations - the tournament's organisers - have confirmed the match will be staged during one of the break weekends, either February 18 and 19 or March 3 and 4.

Pearson has received the backing of the International Rugby Board, who released a statement defending his reversal of a pitch inspection conducted around 90 minutes earlier.

"Player welfare and safety is the primary concern for the IRB and its match officials," read the statement.

"Having witnessed and assessed the rapid deterioration of the playing surface between the final pitch inspection and the scheduled kick-off time, and following consultation with the match official team, both coaches and championship organisers, Pearson deemed the pitch unplayable on player welfare grounds."

Declan Kidney and Philippe Saint-Andre, the coaches of Ireland and France respectively, accepted Pearson's verdict despite the enormous disruption it would cause to their championships.

"We walked the part of the pitch that he was concerned with and I understand why he made his call," said Kidney.

"I'm very disappointed for the supporters and players, but I'd be more disappointed if I was sitting in hospital with somebody who had a very bad injury."

Instead, disgruntled fans have pointed the finger of blame at Six Nations and the French Rugby Federation (FFR).

The Stade de France itself has also been condemned for its lack of under-soil heating, a bewildering situation for a ground that was opened in 1998 to host major sporting events, starting with that year's football World Cup.

Six Nations issued a statement clarifying the procedure for postponing matches, highlighting that the home union and referee are the only parties able to make the call.

"There are no other parties that can make a decision to postpone a Six Nations match," stressed the statement.

However, the question of why Pearson was not urged to complete a definitive pitch inspection on Thursday or Friday night, when conditions were forecast to be near-identical, remains unanswered.

Local reports state that French television, who have also been vilified, were happy for the match to be brought forward to the afternoon to avoid the -8C temperatures that gripped the stadium by 10pm on Saturday night.

The FFR have rounded on Pearson with president Pierre Camou taking a dig at the nationality of the English official and making a bizarre claim about player welfare.

"I'm not sure the argument of safety is suddenly a good one at 8pm," he said.

"A Six Nations game between Italy and England was played in the snow and the referee was French."

Pearson was heavily criticised for failing to recommend that Wales lock Bradley Davies be sent off for a tip tackle at the Aviva Stadium last weekend, but he has been met with sympathy in the wake of the controversy.

Former Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan believes this weekend is the preferable option for restaging the match as it will be kinder to both squads.

"It's a stretch to hold the game next Friday," said O'Sullivan, who masterminded three Triple Crowns during his seven-year reign at Lansdowne Road.

"But if we push it out between the mid point then we'll end up with Ireland and France playing four matches back to back. That would put a huge strain on the squad.

"It would be much better if they could play it next weekend and then have a break after the third week.

"That would make much more sense in terms of players not getting injured or burnt out.

"It would also keep the tournament in kilter in terms of results.

"They do have to fit it in during the tournament because there are no free weekends running into the summer.

"We've never seen this before and I imagine we'll never see this again."