Icy conditions continue to cause fixture chaos
High-profile sports events throughout Ireland and England have been postponed over the past 48 hours due to plummeting temperatures which has created extremely dangerous travelling conditions and left pitches unplayable.
The weekend’s AIB club championship fixtures have been wiped out after Munster and Ulster yesterday joined Leinster in calling off their weekend finals.
Officials yesterday abandoned plans to play Munster’s blue riband football final between Dr Crokes and Nemo Rangers tomorrow after the Páirc na nGael pitch in Limerick was deemed unplayable. The decider has been re-fixed for Sunday, December 12th.
Munster Council PRO Jim Forbes said that the long-term weather forecasts also influenced their thinking.
“We had an early morning pitch inspection in Limerick and the pitch was not playable. We could have held off and inspected it again on Saturday but the forecast for the next 48 hours looks bad so we decided to call the game off.
“It is not just the pitch which is an issue, all the roads are in a very dangerous state on Friday and are very unlikely to improve in the short term. On that basis, we didn’t even consider using Mallow (the stand by pitch), and have refixed the game for Sunday week.”
And what if the game, along with the provincial junior and hurling deciders, can’t be played then? “We will just have to hope that the weather improves. I can’t see the games played on Christmas week if they are not played next Sunday. If we can’t, we will have to wait until 2011, it is as simple as that.”
The domestic rugby fixtures schedule has also been decimated with all AIL fixtures along with club games postponed.
However, Munster’s Magners League clash with Cardiff Blues goes ahead at Thomond Park this evening (5pm) following a pitch inspection at lunchtime yesterday.
The all weather track at Dundalk will host the only race meetings in Ireland this weekend with Navan, Clonmel and Punchestown all falling victim to the weather. Greyhound racing nationwide is under threat and fans are advised to check the Irish Greyhound Board website (www.igb.ie) before travelling.
The Woodie’s National Walks Championships, along with the Kenmare Historic Rally and the Carlow Rallysprint at Kiltorcan, Kilkenny are also casualties of the conditions.
Cross channel, Blackpool’s televised Barclays Premier League match against Manchester United this evening has been postponed because of concerns about the Bloomfield Road pitch.
Temperatures dipped below minus eight last night meaning the Seasiders’ attempts to make the pitch playable, using protective covering and hot-air blowers, were in vain. The match was officially called off after referee Peter Walton carried out an inspection yesterday.
A statement on the club’s website, www.blackpoolfc.co.uk, read: “Mr Walton expressed concern that the severely affected areas of the playing surface would not thaw sufficiently for the game to be completed.”
All the games in the Scottish Premier League are off, while the Npower Championship and Football League have also been badly impacted by the weather. In horse racing, today’s cards at Sandown and Wetherby have fallen victim to the conditions along with Kelso tomorrow. Monday’s card at Bangor has been scrapped as has Tuesday’s meeting at Sedgefield and Wednesday’s at Hexham.
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