Saxons clash called off

England Saxons’ clash with Ireland A has been called off due to a frozen pitch at Donnybrook in Dublin tonight.

Referee Jerome Garces made the decision a minute before the scheduled 7.35pm kick-off time on grounds of player safety.

The French official made a series of pitch inspections in the hour before the match was due to start and gave the go-ahead following consultation with Saxons coach Stuart Lancaster and his Ireland counterpart Allen Clarke.

The teams disappeared into the changing rooms to strip off for the game but by 7.34pm had failed to emerge and it was announced the game was off.

An Irish Rugby Football Union spokesman said: “The pitch is freezing and the temperature kept dropping so the referee decided to call it off.”

The Saxons were due to leave Heathrow yesterday at 1pm but the freezing conditions at Dublin airport meant they did not arrive until this afternoon, a delay of 24 hours.