It’s a Snow go for Falcons' Bath clash

Dec 2 2010 by Mark Smith, The Journal

NEWCASTLE Falcons’ match against Bath tomorrow night has fallen victim the weather, with the Kingston Park clash being snowed off.

Aviva Premiership referee Dave Pearson confirmed the inevitable yesterday, with the briefest of pitch inspections seeing the game officially scratched.

“It’s just took me over an hour to drive 18 miles down from Ashington, and there’s no way this game could be played,” said Pearson.

The international whistler had not been due to officiate in the match, but had been drafted in for an early RFU pitch inspection due to living in the region.

“I took one step on the field, there was over a foot of snow and it’s just a total no-brainer,” he said. “There’s no chance whatsoever of getting any rugby played here, and it’s the common sense decision to get it called off early because there’s no improvement at all in the forecast.

“There’s a foot of snow, and even if they managed to remove it the temperature here is minus three or even lower than that. It would be rock hard, and the safety of the teams has to be absolutely paramount.”

Falcons players had been preparing for the game as normal, holding indoor sessions at the Powerleague indoor football centre in North Shields in readiness for the visit of the West Country side.

Impromptu snowball fights erupted among the squad as a handful of players watched Pearson’s pitch inspection from the touchlines, but there was an air of inevitability as he confirmed the decision.

“We wanted to get the match played, but when the weather’s as bad as this you can’t really argue,” said centre Tane Tu’ipulotu. “It’s the worst I’ve ever seen it, and although it’s disappointing to miss out on a game, I think we can all understand where the officials are coming from.

“You have to think of the fans as well, and at least they’ve made the decision early rather than making people have wasted trip.”

An official statement from the club said: “Newcastle Falcons has invested significantly in pitch protection.

“But with more snow overnight in Newcastle, in addition to concerns about the pitch, there is now significant concern about the safety of the spectator areas within the stadium. This is as well as asking the supporters to travel late at night, with limited public transport available and dangerous road conditions.

“The club would like to inform all supporters that tickets purchased for Friday will be valid for the rearranged game.”

Just when that rearranged date will be is not yet known, although mid to late March looks the most realistic option. That would depend on both sides’ progress in the LV= Cup, with the semi-finals and finals of the Anglo-Welsh competition being played on the weekends of March 12 and March 20 respectively.

Should at least one of the two teams progress through to the knock-out rounds, however, they could be forced to factor in a midweek date to the Premiership schedule, as happened with last year’s snow-affected league visit of Gloucester. Either way, the Falcons will at least hope to have a bigger pool of players to choose from whenever the game eventually takes place, as they continue to battle with injuries.

The return of Joe Graham has eased the hooking crisis somewhat, but with Micky Young currently the only fit scrum-half in the club, the extra eight days before next Saturday’s European trip to Exeter will be most welcome.