Six Nations may go on until autumn

Six Nations officials have admitted that this season's championship may not be concluded until the autumn.

At a meeting in London, it was resolved that Wales would play Ireland at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday, April 29.

The match was scheduled for Saturday but was called off following a request from the Irish government for fans not to travel because of the foot-and-mouth crisis.

A significant proportion of Ireland's gross domestic product comes through the farming industry and there are fears that the country's economy could collapse if the foot-and-mouth virus took hold.

Six Nations committee chairman Allan Hosie confirmed that the rest of Saurday's games - the Calcutta Cup clash at Twickenham and France's trip to Rome to face Italy - would go ahead as scheduled.

However, he added that there was "serious uncertainty" about the remaining games, which includes a potential Grand Slam decider between England and Ireland in Dublin on March 24.

"The committee will keep the position under continuous review and hopes to conclude the championship by the end of the season," said Hosie.

"The committee is committed to ensuring that in due course all matches will be played, even if this necessitates postponement of some matches until the autumn."

Six Nations representatives will seek an urgent meeting with the Irish government - whose hard-line stance has included cancellation of all this weekend's major sporting events.

Unless the foot-and-mouth outbreak is quickly checked - and there is little sign of such a situation arising - England's trip across the Irish Sea would almost certainly be postponed.

Hosie stated that the weekends of May 5/6 and 12/13 have been pencilled in as possible alternatives should further games be postponed.

That though would bring the international game into conflict with the clubs again, with play-off matches due to take place in England on both weekends, including the Grand Final at Twickenham on May 13.

Contractual obligations to various television companies also have to be satisfied and the British Lions tour to Australia, which is scheduled to depart on June 1, also has to be taken into consideration.

Six Nations officials privately accept that they must allow individual governments to take the lead, and there wishes will be acted on accordingly.

Apart from England's trip to Lansdowne Road, Ireland's visit to Scotland on April 7 and Wales' game against France in Paris on March 17 must also have serious question marks placed against them.