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Fri May 18 13:30:37 SAST 2012

Frozen pitch is dangerous, says Clerc

Mathieu Baratas, Reuters | 08 February, 2012 16:360 Comments
France v Italy - RBS 6 Nations
Dimitri Yachvili, Vincent Clerc and Aurelien Rougerie of France celebrate during the Six Nations match between France and Italy at Stade de France on February 4, 2012 in Paris, France
Image by: Claudio Villa / Getty Images

France wing Vincent Clerc said the bitterly cold weather gripping France could render the Stade de France pitch dangerous and unplayable even if Saturday’s Six Nations clash with Ireland gets the go ahead. 

Temperatures are once again expected to fall below zero when the game in the French capital kicks off at 2000 GMT.      

The pitch has been covered all week and the French federation has said the match will go ahead.     

Clerc said it would be “dangerous” to play on.     

“If it’s minus 7 (degrees Celsius) on Saturday, there is reason for concern over the frozen pitch. It was already frozen when we played Italy (last Saturday). The parts near the touchline were frozen,” Clerc told reporters on Wednesday.     

The French federation said that hot-air blowers and covers were expected to maintain a pitch temperature of around 3 degrees Celsius.     

Like much of Europe, France has been hit by a cold snap, with temperatures dropping as low as minus 10 degrees in the outskirts of Paris.

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