Irish fans left out of pocket after farcical French freeze-out
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.”
Dawson estimates that between 3,000 and 4,000 supporters travelled fromIreland for the clash.
“In the good old days there would have been between 8,000 and 10,000 heading from here to Paris. But this was one of the first times in years that there was no direct charter from Cork for the game. Fans paid big money in these hard times to be in Paris.
“The average spend was about €500 per person which would have covered flights, hotel and match tickets. But then you have to factor in the cost of food, drinks and what have you, so you could be coming in at €800 for a trip like this.”
RBS 6 Nations Media and Communications manager, Christine Connolly, advised supporters to retain their tickets for the re-match.
But such announcements are scant consolation to those who paid hundreds of euro to be there according to Dawson.
“The only thing that fans can use again is the ticket unless they had taken out some gilt edged insurance policy. Otherwise the vast majority of fans have no comeback. Most people heading off on a short trip like this would turn down insurance. It would be extremely rare that someone would ask for this kind of thing so I’d say there wouldn’t be many calling in to check their policies today.
Dawson recalled a similar incident in August 1997 — hours after Princess Diana was killed in Paris.
“I remember when Lady Diana died, Liverpool were playing Blackburn on a Sunday. Everyone was inside the ground when the game was called off.
“In those days you could talk to people in airlines and hotels and we actually got deals for those that wanted to go to the re-fixture.
“But that day (of negotiating after a cancellation) is gone with the advent of the internet. It is next to impossible now to get someone on the end of a phone to argue your case with.”
Dawson predicts that the costs will be similar for the rematch but doubts that the Irish will travel in such numbers again.
“It is very debatable if fans will go again. It is a huge expenditure and Paris is a very expensive city.”
Fans were furious at thedecision to postpone the match. Mark Kelly, a salesman from Dublin, said: “You wouldn’t get this in schoolboy rugby! Me and my wife have been planning this for a year, St Valentine’s weekend and all that.
“With hotel and flights and organising nannies for the two kids it has cost €1,000. The first we knew was 10 minutes after it was meant to kick off.”
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