Freeze was so easy to beat

One of world’s foremost experts in pitch maintenance believes Saturday night’s Six Nations debacle at Stade de France could have been avoided.

George Mullan, whose company Support in Sport Group has worked on stadiums for showpiece events all over the globe, including World Cups and Champions League finals, last night expressed amazement that organisers hadn’t used a heated dome system as temperatures plummeted in Paris last week.

Sligo native Mullan also said that decisions on a pitch’s match capability should have been made a day or two in advance.