Late April may be chosen if game is re-fixed

Officials from the IRFU, the Welsh RFU and the Six Nations Committee will today endeavour to find an alternative date for the Wales-Ireland match, postponed from this Saturday due to the foot-and-mouth epidemic.

The most likely date is April 28th, which wouldn't be ideal given that comes a week after Munster's European Cup semi-final against Stade Francais, or possibly on May 5th or 12th.

Mindful of recent criticisms over the end-of-season backlog in the AIB League, an IRFU spokesperson last night said they would be encouraging Irish clubs to rearrange back games for this coming Saturday.

However, a more advisable course of action may be to play an entire series of games - weather permitting - as the need for free Saturdays later in the season could intensify.

Warren Gatland, the Ireland coach, while very disappointed, commented: "Obviously we understand the implications and how important it is to call the game off. People's livelihood, the well-being of the economy and the livestock industry are more important than a game of rugby."

From a purely rugby perspective though, the Irish coach admitted: "The preparations had gone extremely well, and the players were extremely upbeat that they could win. We were on a bit of a roll and it just gives them (Wales) the chance to regroup."

A precedent having been set by the postponement of this Saturday's game and the probability that the foot-and-mouth outbreak will not have been eradicated in the next three weeks, it seems highly probable that the scheduled Ireland-England game fixed for Lansdowne Road in Dublin on March 26th will also be called off.

The IRFU said they weren't contemplating future cancellations as yet, preferring to concentrate on the immediate fall-out of yesterday's postponement of the Welsh game.

Although tournament organisers expressed the belief that the England-Scotland game, as well as the Italy-France game, will go ahead as scheduled this Saturday, there must even be a doubt about this season's Six Nations' Championship being completed.

It's worth bearing in mind that horse racing has been banned in Britain until March 7th at least, and indefinitely in Ireland, and also that the last major outbreak of foot-and-mouth in 1967 lasted six months, leading to a ban on horse racing for three months.

Hence, in addition to the English game, the planned meeting with Scotland in Murrayfield five weeks hence on April 7th must also be in jeopardy.

Minister for Agriculture Joe Walsh said he appreciated the inconvenience these measures would cause. "I know that there will be particular disappointment among sports fans."

Ominously for the prospects of the Ireland-England game, the Minister also said: "We have said consistently that nothing would be ruled out and that any action necessary to protect this country against the spread of the disease would be taken."

An estimated 20-25,000 English fans would be expected to travel to Ireland on the weekend of a Six Nations match, which would raise at least an estimated £3.5 million for the IRFU and £20 million toward the Irish economy.

Set against the ongoing risk to the £5 billion agricultural industry here however, and with a precedent now having been set, it's hard to see how that game can proceed.

Ironically, akin to the case now, Ireland were unbeaten after two away wins in 1972 over France, in Colombes, and England at Twickenham (courtesy of a classic, last-ditch winning try by Kevin Flynn) when Scotland and Wales subsequently refused to travel to Dublin due to the troubles in the north and political unrest in the country.

Given there hadn't been disruptions to international rugby matches previously or subsequently, history shows that their refusal to travel then looks even more risible now.

France subsequently came to Dublin for a friendly in April of that year and when England duly fulfilled their fixture with Ireland in Lansdowne Road in February 1973 they were given a five minute standing ovation amid one of the most moving scenes the old ground has ever witnessed.

Ireland won by 18-9, prompting English captain John Pullin to remark, "we may not be very good, but at least we turn up".

A more relevant precedent was set in 1967 when the touring All Blacks were prevented from completing the Irish leg of their tour by the Department of Agriculture due to the foot-and-mouth epidemic in Britain at the time.

Back in 1962, the Ireland-Wales game scheduled for Dublin was cancelled due to an outbreak of small pox in the Welsh valleys, obliging a re-scheduled match in Lansdowne Road the following November that ended in an undistinguished 3-3 draw.