Six Nations and IRB back referee Pearson

Both the Six Nations and the International Rugby Board moved yesterday to support under-fire match referee Dave Pearson, following his decision to postpone Saturday night’s France-Ireland game.

The tournament organisers and the game’s governing body issued statements of support for Pearson following the postponement six minutes before kick-off due to a “dangerous” pitch at Stade de France, praising the English official for putting player safety at the top of his priorities.

Last night the Six Nations issued a clarification on the “procedure with regards to postponed matches”, within which it expressed “regret that thousands of supporters were left disappointed and frustrated by this late postponement in Paris” and concluded: “Player welfare is paramount and the Six Nations believe the referee’s decision was the right one under the circumstances.”

The IRB statement took a similar approach, offering its support to the World Cup referee and adding: “Player welfare and safety is the primary concern for the IRB and its match officials and having witnessed and assessed the rapid deterioration of the playing surface between the final pitch inspection and the scheduled kick-off time, and following consultation with the match official team, both coaches and Championship organisers, Pearson deemed the pitch unplayable on player welfare grounds.”