Rugby:Ireland's postponed Six Nations clash against France will not take place this weekend, it has been confirmed, after the task of rescheduling the fixture grew more complicated.
A meeting of the Six Nations Council today ruled out the option of a seven-day turnaround and further negotiations are planned for tomorrow to iron out “significant logistical issues arising from this situation”, a statement read this afternoon.
Some of those complications, it is believed, emerge from the domestic French league’s written objection to the game being played at all during the current season.
La Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) has cited the lack of free weekends remaining and the efforts already made by clubs to accommodate the World Cup at the start of the season as reasons to defer the game until as far away as September.
However, L'Equipeclaimed today that the Six Nations hopes to reschedule the game for Sunday March 4th, when there are no Top 14 fixtures after a full programme over the previous two days.
While a game that weekend would mean both teams would have to play four competitive games in four weeks to round of their campaign, it would be infinitely preferable to waiting until the end of the summer.
Meanwhile, an investigation has been launched by the French Sports Ministry into the events surrounding the postponement on Saturday, when referee Dave Pearson was forced to call off the game minutes before kick-off because of a frozen pitch.
The stadium was full at the time, with thousands of Irish fans having made the trip to Paris for the game.
While fans who had tickets can attend the rescheduled fixture, whenever that may be, the FFR insisted today it is seeking a solution for those who, perhaps unable to return to Paris, wish to be reimbursed the ticket price.
