Corry criticises 'incompetent' FFR

Former England and Leicester Tigers star Martin Corry has added his voice to the chorus of criticism aimed at the French Rugby Federation (FFR) after the late cancellation of last Saturday’s match between Ireland and France.

The 6 Nations organising committee has rescheduled the Stade de France game for Sunday March 4, meaning both Ireland and France will face four games in successive weeks, potentially handing an advantage to the other participating teams.

Corry, who earned 64 caps in an England jersey, 16 as captain, believes the FFR are to blame for last weekend’s “fiasco” and not referee Dave Pearson, who made the final call to postpone the match minutes before kick-off.

“Where international rugby is concerned, loyalty and commitment must be shown to the fans, players, TV stations, and, importantly, the sponsors, who are spending hundreds of thousands supporting the sport,” Corry wrote in a column on PlanetRugby.com.

“Both of those qualities, together with common-sense and foresight, were sadly lacking from the French authorities.”

“To compound this, their attempt then to effectively hang referee Dave Pearson out to dry was wholly inappropriate. Pearson's remit is simple; is this surface fit for rugby?”

Having played for the Tigers throughout a particularly cold winter last season, Corry is no stranger to the kind of conditions experienced in Paris last weekend.

However the former backrow believes that the game could have gone ahead notwithstanding the temperatures had the FFR heeded the warning of French winger Vincent Clerc and agreed on an earlier kick-off time.

“Vincent Clerc, a player I respect highly and an international veteran of almost 60 Tests, implored the authorities to take note of the weather forecast and to manage the pitch properly.

“He was totally ignored.”