Welsh offer Cardiff instead of Croke Park

The IRFU should forget about Croke Park and play their home fixtures at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff while Lansdowne Road is being redeveloped.

That was the message last night from Welsh Rugby Union chairman David Pickering as he courted Irish Rugby Football Union officials in the aftermath of Ireland’s RBS Six Nations victory at Lansdowne Road.

Pickering promised the IRFU a financial bonanza and huge support if they move base from Dublin to Wales during the construction period of the new Lansdowne Road.