Ulster support decision to postpone French games after Paris attacks

Ulster’s Team Manager, Bryn Cunningham, has backed the decision of tournament organisers to postpone the Champions Cup clash with Oyonnax on Saturday, following the tragic events in Paris on Friday night.

Ulster returned home on Saturday afternoon and Cunningham said: “There are much more important things in the world than rugby. It has been a devastating series of events and our thoughts and prayers are with the French public and everyone who has been so tragically affected. You can certainly get an idea within this town of Oyonnax, just how devastated they are. It’s just a terrible, terrible time.

“We fully support EPCR’s (European Professional Club Rugby) position on this. Decisions like this require a lot of thought and it’s a very difficult thing for them, under exceptional circumstances, to get all those messages out. “We’ll go back home this evening and await confirmation of when the rescheduled fixture will be.”

Cunningham admits that with European and PRO12 matches pencilled in for the next 11 consecutive weekends, it could prove difficult to find a suitable date for the rearranged fixture.

“Already our management team is planning the weeks and months ahead to see what our fixture list looks like and any potential impact this will have. Other clubs will be doing the same and we just have to manage that and have the squad prepared for a midweek game or for a game to be shifted to later in the season. As yet, we don’t know but to be honest, while we are considering that, the main thing right now is to focus on the tragic events which have taken place.”

With hundreds of fans making their way to the east of France for the game at the weekend, Cunningham was keen to thank them for their continued support, while also acknowledging the hospitality shown by the locals: “Our supporter base is probably one of the best in world rugby and that is shown by how many came out to support the team here in Oyonnax.

“It’s a beautiful little town and they have really enjoyed the hospitality. As it’s so compact, there’s been a lot of interaction among both sets of supporters.

“It’s been great to be able to sample that atmosphere. I’ve spoken with many of the supporters and obviously they are disappointed that they’ve come across and the game was postponed. But there are things that are a lot more important in life than rugby and they understand that.”