Irish fans left out of pocket after farcical French freeze-out

Irish Travel Agents Association CEO Pat Dawson slammed Six Nations organisers after Saturday night’s Stade de France debacle.

Dawson admitted the majority of Irish fans who travelled to Paris did not have insurance against the possibility of a postponement and will be left out of pocket by the experience.

Dawson said: “Unfortunately like all sports, money and television are dictating the timing of rugby games. Anyone with sense knows that playing a game in Paris at 9pm in February is only asking for trouble. What happened was an embarrassment. It was most unprofessional to make a decision of that magnitude with the majority of the crowd inside the stadium. I hope that lessons can be learned from this in terms of when these calls are made, or indeed investing in under soil heating in stadiums hosting night time games.”