Former Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan wants the postponed RBS Six Nations match to be rescheduled for this weekend in the pursuit of fairness.
Ireland and France were both ready to leave the dressing rooms at the Stade de France on Saturday when word came through that the match had been postponed after referee Dave Pearson deemed the pitch to be unplayable.
Pearson had to make the difficult decision to abort the match after inspecting conditions at the Paris venue, a decision which was backed by both Declan Kidney and his French counterpart Phillipe Saint-Andre.
It was immediately reported that the match would take place on March 2 at the Stade de France but a final decision will not be made until Monday when the Six Nations Committee will finalise a new date.
February 18 and 19 or March 3 and 4 are all available but O'Sullivan believes hosting the match this weekend would allow both squads the opportunity to have a break later in the tournament.
“It’s a stretch to hold the game next Friday,” said O’Sullivan. “But if we push it out between the mid point then we’ll end up with Ireland and France playing four matches back to back. That would put a huge strain on the squad.
“It would be much better if they could play it next weekend and then have a break after the third week.
“That would make much more sense in terms of players not getting injured or burnt out. It would also keep the tournament in kilter in terms of results.
“They do have to fit it in during the tournament because there are no free weekends running into the summer.
“We’ve never seen this before and I imagine we’ll never see this again.”
Tournament organisers were slammed for the timing of the postponement - the game was abandoned just six minutes before kick-off - as weather forecasts in the days leading up to the match correctly predicted the sub-zero temperatures that greeted supporters at the Stade de France.
Indeed, France’s Vincent Clerc had warned that the pitch was unplayable three days before the scheduled kick-off.
"Player welfare is paramount and the Six Nations believe the referee’s decision was the right one under the circumstances," the Six Nations said in a statement.