The Six Nations Championship has been abandoned for this season after tournament organisers accepted the inevitable consequences of the foot-and-mouth epidemic in Britain by postponing the three re-arranged games involving Ireland until next season.
Mindful that the crisis in Britain shows no signs of abating before the summer, and given the Government's insistence on a 30-day window after the last confirmed case there, the Six Nations Committee met in Copenhagen yesterday and issued a statement confirming their decision.
"After reviewing the current position and the likely prognosis for the foreseeable future it has been unanimously decided that the following matches will be postponed until the commencement of next season: Wales v Ireland, Ireland v England and Scotland v Ireland.
"There will now be consultation with unions and with commercial partners on possible alternative dates before firm dates are set. Further dialogue within the Six Nations Committee will take place in the near future," the statement read, which also confirmed that the England-France and Italy-Wales games fixed for this weekend will go ahead.
The likeliest alternative dates, whenever they are agreed upon, would seem to be next September or October, though clearly this would have implications for the mooted Celtic League and/or the Irish Inter-provincial Championship.
