RUGBY: SATURDAY, MARCH 3rd at 6pm French time (5pm Irish) appears the likeliest solution for the re-arranged France-Ireland game, with a decision expected to be announced today.

A belated statement by the Six Nations committee last night expressed its regret that thousands of supporters were left disappointed” by Saturday night’s postponement before thanking the FFR for “the huge effort” it made in trying to make sure the game went ahead before concluding; “A rescheduled date will be announced as soon as possible.”

While tickets for the original game will be valid, perhaps too the Six Nations will declare whether they will re-imburse those supporters who will not be able to attend the re-arranged match, even if that is only a drop in the ocean compared to the overall cost of attending Stade de France last Saturday night.

As the committee is reputed to be meeting at 11.30am today, it is anticipated that the new date and kick-off time will be confirmed by early afternoon. There was also a statement from the IRB backing Dave Pearson’s decision to postpone the match.

Reports in France that France Television had offered to move the game forward to 3pm local time appear to have emanated from an informal chat between their sports director and the marketing director of FFR last Wednesday which never went any further, primarily on the basis that it would have been too short notice for fans who had planned to travel on the day.

The general feeling appears to be that next Sunday is logistically too short a timeframe to make all the arrangements for a re-arranged game, as Stade de France has been hired out the day before by Stade Francais for their top 14 game against Toulon, for which over 50,000 tickets have been sold.

French Television yesterday indicated that they would be most amenable to a 6pm kick-off on Saturday March 3rd, as there is a full round of Top 14 matches that day, with Clermont hosting Toulouse at 4pm. However, this would also require the French Federation to negotiate with La Ligue, which represents the clubs.

This would mean both Ireland and France will be obliged to play on four consecutive weekends, and, pending confirmation, the net effect may see the Irish management either cancel or downsize their planned two-day get-together in Belfast this Wednesday and Thursday as this would be their last “down week”. Nor, of course, do they have any match to review.

No less than the actual decision to call the game off, the views of Declan Kidney or the Irish camp regarding the re-scheduling of the game are fairly irrelevant, as this will be entirely a Six Nations decision. “To my understanding we wouldn’t have any actual say in it. I think it would be a fait accompli,” said Kidney.

That said, the Irish coach appeared to be veering more towards accommodating the re-arranged game three weekends from now. “It’s a difficult one. Two and a gap and two is fine but the lads are looking to go home. We’ve had three weeks of it now. If I tell them ‘sorry lads you’re back into camp for another week’ that would be a challenge but then four on the trot is also a daunting challenge.

“I know the bangs and knocks we have. Maybe we would be better off waiting and getting four on the trot. Fellas need a break so maybe just come in and go for it with four on the trot.”

As the coaches’ opinion on the playing surface didn’t count, there was no point in either Kidney or Saint-André furnishing Pearson with one.

“Why give your opinion on something when you can’t have a say? It’s an invidious position for one person to be put in. What happens if one of us says go ahead with it and the other says no?” asked Kidney rhetorically. “That puts the referee in a worse position.”

Pearson, walking through Charles de Gaulle airport yesterday, confirmed that the pitch had deteriorated rapidly between 7pm and 8.45pm, was also full of praise for the way Kidney reacted by declaring, within earshot of the officials, that if somebody had been injured there would have been questions asked.

Philippe Saint-André, confirming Kidney’s account, said he was sorry for both sets of players and both sets of supporters, “but we have to accept the decision of the referee. He is in charge of the safety of the players and he makes the decisions. Two or three parts of the pitch were dangerous.”

The French coach expressed a preference for re-arranging the game next weekend even though Stade Francais host Toulon next Saturday in Stade de France.

“It’s the Six Nations, a competition that outweighs other competitions. Maybe we can fix next Sunday. The week after we play Six Nations in Scotland, so I don’t know. We’ll wait and see.”

Of course, as the French are now also likely to play on four successive weekends, the real winners here could be Wales and England.They will be hosting somewhat weary French and Irish teams on St Patrick’s Day, the championship’s concluding Saturday.