Rugby chiefs back decision to postpone Six Nations games
Rugby chiefs were united in support of last night’s decision to conclude the 2001 Six Nations Championship next season after the postponement of all matches involving Ireland because of the foot-and-mouth crisis.
The organisers took the unprecedented step of cancelling the remainder of Ireland’s fixtures after heeding the advice of government officials.
The decision draws a temporary halt to what could have been an intriguing championship.
Having won their opening two matches, Ireland were quietly confident of ending England’s reign and are bitterly disappointed at the postponement of their clash with Clive Woodward’s men which had originally been set for March 24 and has now been put back again from its revised date of May 5.
‘‘The Irish Rugby Football Union share in the decision that has been made, and it is absolutely understandable given the circumstances in which it has been taken,’’ said IRFU spokesman John Redmond.
Ireland coach Warren Gatland added: ‘‘It’s a disappointment, but we’re not surprised about it. We had a meeting last week and had prepared for this decision.’’
Gatland admitted that, having opened their campaign with wins over Italy and France, the Irish will be inconvenienced by having to wait until the autumn to play again.
‘‘The objective this year was to build on a pretty good Six Nations of last year. We wanted to see if we could put two good Six Nations back to back and felt we were doing that.
‘‘We were pretty confident that we would have won the Wales game, and it would have been brilliant going into the England match with three wins under our belt.’’
English RFU chief executive Francis Baron also agreed the Six Nations Committee had their hands forced and there was no viable alternative.
The Scottish Rugby Union said: “We will continue to work closely with the Irish Rugby Football Union, the Six Nations Committee and any relevant authorities in order to set a firm date for the fixture as soon as it is practicable.
