The Wales-Ireland rugby match, postponed at the request of the Government yesterday, could be rearranged for April 28th. It is likely that the England-Ireland match, scheduled for Dublin on March 24th, will also have to be postponed.
Senior veterinary officials met the Irish Rugby Football Union yesterday morning. It is believed the Department of Agriculture reached its decision just after 3 p.m., following reports of the foot-and-mouth disease spreading across Britain to an abattoir in Anglesey in north Wales. The Six Nations match had been due to take place in Cardiff this Saturday.
The Department also moved to suspend horse racing in Ireland, as well as the importation of British horses. A spokesman refused last night to put a time limit on the ban on horse and greyhound racing in Ireland, and "strongly advised" people not to travel to the Cheltenham festival.
The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, said: "Developments in the UK pose a growing and a real threat to Ireland, given the volume of traffic through Holyhead, and the case in Anglesey is a particular worry. I know there will be disappointment among sports fans, but there is so much at stake that national concerns must take precedent."
Rugby authorities said last night they were "endeavouring to identify a date on which the games may be played at a later time, probably in late April or May".
Speaking about the problems that would have been caused by the match going ahead, the Welsh First Minister, Mr Rhodri Morgan, said: "There is an increased risk to the livestock industry the length and breadth of Wales from the infection being carried by rugby supporters arriving in Holyhead, passing through the exclusion zone around Gaerwen and southwards to Cardiff and back.
"The virulence of this disease puts a duty on all of us to be good neighbours. I hope this eagerly-awaited fixture can be played as soon as this disease has been eliminated."
The Government can only request people not to travel to the Cheltenham racing festival, due to take place in just under two weeks. A Department of Agriculture spokesman would not comment on what measures could be taken if that call is ignored.
"There is a potential issue about free movement within the EU but at this stage we are advising people not to travel. That's all we can say at the moment," the spokesman said.
The Turf Club chief executive, Mr Brian Kavanagh, said he was not surprised at the ban on racing in Ireland. He understood why a strict ban had to be put in place, as our economy was even "more dependent on agriculture" than Britain's.
The Jockey Club and the British Horseracing Board have banned racing in Britain for a week, with a review of the situation due next Wednesday. That allows a chink of hope for the Cheltenham festival to go ahead in 13 days' time.