RUGBY: It was a day of recrimination as Newcastle and Leinster squared up to each other verbally following the postponement of the Heineken European Cup tie for a second time in 24 hours.

The Kingston Park surface was yesterday deemed unplayable on two separate inspections by Welsh referee Gareth Simmods.

Newcastle coach Steve Bates could barely contain his anger at the decision. "My view is that the pitch was perfectly playable. We have played on that pitch when it has been a lot worse. I do not think Leinster had any intention of playing the game. The referee should have made his decision without knowing what the teams thought of the pitch."

Newcastle's director of rugby Rob Andrew was equally forthright, suggesting that the Leinster had put the referee under a great deal of pressure "not to play the match. They had no intention of playing. The Leinster team did not even turn up."

Leinster coach Matt Williams took the opposite view, claiming that the postponing the game had been the correct option. "It was the right decision. It was dangerous on the far side of the ground and the in-goal areas. It didn't take a clean stud and there were areas of sheet ice that made the ground rock hard. The referee had absolutely no choice but to make the decision he did.

"There was no way that pitch was going to be right. We must put players' safety first."

European Rugby Cup (ERC) official Diarmaid Murphy was present at both inspections and the dialogue between the combatants. He said: "The pitch was inspected at 11.0 am and deemed unplayable by the referee. Because of the fact that the pitch was continuing to improve at that time it was decided to hold another inspection between 12.30 and 12.45. The referee once again considered the surface unplayable and the match was postponed."

ERC regulations state that when a game is postponed it must be played within 24 hours at the venue or another suitable one. If the match is postponed again, then it falls to ERC to decide when and where the fixture will take place. A decision on that will be made today.

Newcastle claim that they investigated the possibility of the match being switched from Kingston Park to St James 's Park, home of Newcastle United soccer club, or the Stadium of Light, home to Sunderland, when the game was first postponed onSaturday. They could secure neither option.

ERC had sent letters to all competing teams in the tournament prior to Christmas to warn them to be vigilant with regard to weather conditions and to make the appropriate arrangements to guarantee that the matches in January would take place as scheduled. Newcastle's decision to remove snow from the pitch on Thursday, the fact that the pitch was never covered at any stage, nor had they any provisional arrangements made, may mitigate against them.

ERC has indicated that they want the match played as quickly as possibly. Leinster will not want to play this week given that they have to travel to Toulouse at the weekend - but may have to. The following week the Ireland squad is due to come together for a week-long session prior to the Six Nations Championship while Newcastle have an English Cup tie away to Leeds. Nevertheless the early indications are that the game could take place as early as tomorrow at a different venue.

Newcastle coach Bates wanted the game refixed for today but Leinster used their prerogative to fly home last night, albeit (due to complications) at an estimated cost of €10,000.