Stade de France: Awaiting new date

It follows a meeting of the Six Nations Council on Monday, almost 48 hours after Saturday's match at Stade de France in Paris was postponed by English referee Dave Pearson 10 minutes before the scheduled 9pm (local time) kick-off.

Saturday, March 3 remains the most likely new date, although there will be no confirmation of that - or otherwise - until tomorrow at the earliest.

In a statement, the Six Nations said: "Further to a meeting of the Six Nations Council today, we can confirm that the postponed RBS 6 Nations France versus Ireland match will not take place this weekend (Feb 17/18/19).

"A further meeting of the Council will take place tomorrow to hopefully resolve the issues of rescheduling and ticket policy.

"There are very significant logistical issues arising from this situation, and we would wish to be in a position to give a comprehensive clarification following the meeting."

March 3, which is thought to be the favoured date, might not prove a trouble-free alternative.

That weekend clashes with a round of domestic Top 14 rugby action in France, and leading clubs are thought to be vehemently opposed to losing their star players for fixtures that include Clermont Auvergne versus Toulouse, Brive against Stade Francais and Agen against Perpignan.

A March 3 rescheduling, accompanied by a probable early evening kick-off, would also see France and Ireland playing Six Nations games on four successive weekends.

There is no Six Nations programme next weekend, but France could then be left facing Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales on the bounce, with Ireland meeting Italy, France, Scotland and finally England.

Supporters' initial fury at the decision of Pearson to abandon the game has been replaced by an acceptance the official had no choice due to certain areas of the pitch being frozen by a week of sub-zero temperatures.

Pearson has received backing from the International Rugby Board, who released a statement on Sunday 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," the IRB said.

"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 championship campaigns.

Disgruntled fans pointed the finger of blame at Six Nations organisers and the French Rugby Federation (FFR).

And the Stade de France 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.

Speaking on Saturday night, Ireland coach Declan Kidney said: "It's a very difficult situation where one man has to decide on 70,000 people all ready to watch a match, 30 players all ready to go and then whether the pitch is safe or not.

"We had done our research before we came over - the Six Nations rules are that it's at the sole discretion of the referee. He had to make his call.

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

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