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I think one of the rules is that every member of the squad must start a game.

Ben Glynn hasn't, so I guess he's ill/injured.

The two undefeated sides going into the final game, so should be an interesting one.

News from a friends out there - seems as though tonights game is to be postponed/cancelled as Fletch has apparently declared pitch unsuitable as it is strewn with stones. Hopefully to be rearranged back in UK. Good decision.

strewn with stones?!

According to the Planet Rugby forum the pitch is playable & Ireland U18 are playing a game against a local U19 team on it.

Apparently the game won't be replayed.

English refuse to play ball

The integrity of the U18 Five Nations was in tatters yesterday when England refused to play Ireland on the grounds of the poor condition of the surface of the pitch at Colorno, a picturesque town 10 miles north of Parma.

"From our point of view, we are extremely disappointed, given all the efforts of the Italians and the agreement the pitch was playable by Ireland and the referee (Chris Williams), that England were unable to participate in the match," said John Davies, the Six Nations director of operation.

"It may have repercussions at Six Nations level where it will be discussed at council meeting in May."

This has left parents and supporters from both countries, Ireland and England, out of pocket to a considerable extent because of the incomprehensible decision of the English management.

An issue emerged on Friday over the state of the pitch. The England management was concerned about the number of small stones lying on the surface. In their eyes, the safety of players was at risk.

The English did offer to play the game on the adjacent artificial pitch. The Irish were not inclined to take this up as their players had not played on what was a foreign surface to them.

A Mexican stand-off, of sorts, ensued. Soon, it became a moot point when it emerged that Colorno Rugby had not received an International Rugby Board certificate to verify that it had satisfied all the conditions necessary to ensure the players' safety.

It meant that the grass pitch became the only option. A group of young children took to the playing surface not once, but twice, to clear the stones to the satisfaction of the English management.

All four tournament referees, including an Englishman, agreed the pitch was playable on Friday afternoon. The Irish management was keen to play on a pitch no worse than Donnybrook at the end of a season.

This was not good enough for England. It was slightly reminiscent of the 'A' international this season when England refused to play because of the state of the 'frozen' pitch at Donnybrook.

The good people of Colorno had gone to a lot of trouble to prepare for a big day. The pitch had been cleared of the stones, cleared to play by all four referees and clearly good enough for the Irish. This was not good enough for England.

[www.independent.ie]

CooperMan offers some insight.

Seems to be more to this than meets the eye