Six Nations in turmoil as Irish shut the gates

By CHRIS HEWETT

Rugby's nightmare scenario duly came to pass yesterday when Ireland postponed their Six Nations matches with England and Scotland in a further effort to minimise the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.

This long-expected development will certainly cost a few administrators some beauty sleep as they, in turn, attempt to minimise the political fall-out that already threatens to engulf the English game and bring the Rugby Football Union into conflict with the International Board.

England, the molten-hot favourites for the Six Nations title, were scheduled to meet the Irish in Dublin on 24 March. Ireland were then listed to meet Scotland in Edinburgh on 7 April.

The decision to postpone both games, taken by the Irish Rugby Football Union after meetings with government ministers, means that the tournament will stretch into May.

Given that Ireland are already listed to play their postponed game with Wales in Cardiff on 29 April, the earliest they can take on England is 5 May – one of the dates set aside by the Six Nations committee for held-over fixtures.

That clashes with the semi-finals of the Zurich Championship, and leading figures in the club movement have publicly stated their intention to withhold players from international duty as a result.

Already embittered by their failure to reach a lasting agreement with the RFU on fixture structures and central funding, they were almost incandescent when the Six Nations hierarchy announced their revised dates without making so much as a phone call to those directly affected.

Nigel Wray, the owner of Saracens, accused the Six Nations chairman Allan Hosie and his colleagues of "presumptuousness" – just about the politest word used in this connection since the rumpus erupted last Friday.

At the moment, the Six Nations officials appear blithely ignorant of the problems they have created by acting in so high-handed a fashion. They will not remain ignorant for long.

The English clubs fully intend to go ahead with their play-off matches at the dates and times agreed before the campaign began last August, and it is not overstating the case to suggest that they are now closer to open revolt than at any time since rugby went professional almost six years ago.

A spokesman for the IRFU said last night that the postponements were considered to be "in the national interest." Officials from Ireland's Ministry of Agriculture have recommended that at least 30 days should elapse from the last confirmed case of foot-and-mouth in the United Kingdom before large-scale sporting events should be allowed to resume.

Harassed RFU officials are attempting to reach a compromise agreement with the clubs over fixture dates. One possible solution might be to bring forward the Zurich Premiership matches scheduled for Easter weekend to the weekend of 24 March.

That would allow the clubs to rearrange their play-off dates and steer clear of the contentious 5 May date, now earmarked for Ireland-England.

However, it is still possible that the England-France game on 7 April will also fall to the foot-and-mouth outbreak. If that happens, the fixture chaos will be all but impossible to solve without causing grave offence to someone, somewhere.

The hard-liners on the International Board are another potential problem. If the RFU does not fall into line by prioritising the Six Nations fixtures over and above the claims of club rugby, they might leave themselves open to disciplinary action.

Meanwhile, the leading Welsh clubs have rejected a proposal by Graham Henry, the national coach, to field five "super-clubs" in next season's Heineken Cup. Under Henry's scheme, Cardiff would have linked up with Bridgend, Swansea with Neath, Newport with Cross Keys and Pontypridd with Ebbw Vale and Caerphilly. Only Llanelli, of the traditional big-hitters, would have stood alone.

A new working party featuring Henry and delegates from all 10 Welsh Premier clubs will meet next week to discuss new fixture structures.

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