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Six Nations 2019: Roof open for Wales against Ireland

Last updated on .From the section Irish Rugbycomments685

Six Nations 2019: Wales v Ireland
Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff Date: Saturday, 16 March Kick-off: 14:45 GMT
Coverage: Live on BBC One, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio Ulster, plus live text commentary on BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app.

The Principality Stadium roof will be open on Saturday at Ireland's request as Wales bid for the Six Nations Grand Slam against them in Cardiff.

The decision was confirmed on the eve of the game and came after Ireland coach Joe Schmidt suggested Wales broke protocol in asking tournament bosses to close the roof for the potential tournament decider.

Under Six Nations rules, both teams must agree to the roof being closed.

Rain is forecast for the game.

Schmidt said Wales had asked for the roof to be closed because of the weather forecast for Saturday's game.

When it was put to Schmidt that normally the visitors would be asked to decide on the roof, the Ireland coach replied: "Yes, normally."

He added: "There's been a request from Wales that in the interest of the quality of the game and the very poor weather forecast that the roof be closed.

"So they've said to the Six Nations directly, 'can it be closed?"'

Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones gave little away when he was asked about the roof being open.

"You'd have to ask the Irish guys about what their mentality is," he said.

"We've trained here on a few occasions with it open and closed."

Asked if the decision should have been Wales' to make, Jones added: "That's for the alickadoos, isn't it? I don't wear a shirt and tie long enough to make those decisions.

"At the end of the day, the pitch and conditions are the same for both teams."

The Irish trained under an open roof, whereas Wales had the stadium closed for their captain's run session on Friday.

Ireland captain Rory Best insisted his side simply wanted to play the game in the winter sport manner to which it was intended.

"In the end we made the decision on playing a game of rugby in the outdoors," said Best.

"There was a lot made of it, and more outside of our camp, but we felt that was the best decision to be made.

"And whether indoors or outdoors, it's the same for both teams."

Schmidt believes closing the roof would have made precious little difference in any case, recalling how he believes Wales over-watered the pitch back in 2017, when the hosts prevailed 22-9.

"For us, last time we said 'look, we don't mind, you choose'," said Schmidt.

"And they chose closed, but made the field incredibly wet at the start of the game.

"So we will probably be happy enough if it's open anyway."

Warren Gatland is aiming to coach Wales to the Grand Slam on Saturday
Gatland says bad weather could affect the spectator experience if the roof is open

'We should be able to do what we want with it'

Wales boss Warren Gatland had expected Ireland to ask for the roof to be open.

"My only concern is that if it is pouring down with rain then we do have a responsibility to the game as a spectacle," said Gatland.

"Both teams have to agree to the roof being closed so that means basically the away team decides what happens in our stadium.

"I have made a number of comments in the past about that. It's our stadium and we should be able to do what we want with it."

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685 comments

  • Comment posted by celticwarrior69, at 12:11 15 Mar 2019

    When you have a magnificent facility that has the option of playing with the roof closed it would have been nice to think about the spectators for a change given the weather forecast. At the end of the day these are two evenly matched sides and the conditions are the same for both, open or closed.

  • Comment posted by 009, at 12:12 15 Mar 2019

    Even as an Irishman I'm embarrassed by this. At the very least Joe has an obligation to the Irish supporters who have paid to follow the team and will now have paid to get very wet and watch a game that will be reduced to a lottery, when it's entirely avoidable

  • Comment posted by JW7121, at 12:30 15 Mar 2019

    I never realised there were so many fair weather rugby supporters out there, whinging about watching the game in the rain! The weather & adapting to it is part of the game, its an outdoor sport, where the seasons runs through Autumn and Winter - playing in the wind & rain should be expected. Everyone knows it's to Wales' advantage when the roof is shut. I don't blame the Irish for wanting it open.

  • Comment posted by Alfymoon, at 12:10 15 Mar 2019

    Pay over £100 for a ticket to sit in the rain and watch a series of knock scrums... Thanks Schmidt.

  • Comment posted by triumphanddisaster, at 12:28 15 Mar 2019

    good sides embrace and thrive in all the conditions they face
    rugby is an all weather sport the vast majority of teams - amateur and professional - play outdoors
    stop making this out to be some sort of conspiracy against Wales. It is a great stadium closed or open.

  • Comment posted by anglowelsh, at 12:17 15 Mar 2019

    Has Schmidt given a reason WHY he wants the game to be played in torrential rain and gale force winds?

  • Comment posted by U16732454, at 13:16 15 Mar 2019

    It’s a winter sport. It’s raining. Suck it up

  • Comment posted by uglytuco, at 12:58 15 Mar 2019

    The ‘unfair’ argument about the roof is flawed (pardon the pun!)

    If you go down that road then home advantage is in its self unfair. So are bigger stadiums, so are better stadiums, so are stadiums at high altitude (South Africa).

    So really if having a roof is deemed unfair then by that logic all games should be played in the same neutral venue, with an exact 50:50 split of fans. Absurd.

  • Comment posted by Cardiffboy, at 12:13 15 Mar 2019

    That’s a real shame as the weather is likely to prevent what could have been a real treat of a rugby gamet

  • Comment posted by MunsterMac , at 12:26 15 Mar 2019

    Wales are getting their comeuppance for their underhand carry on of 2 years ago.

    Schmidt's remit is to win games for Ireland, not to ensure the fans don't get wet or provide a 'good' game of rugby.

    Schmidt has no obligation to Irish supporters other than to ensure the Irish team are in the best position possible to win rugby matches.

  • Comment posted by U16696611, at 12:30 15 Mar 2019

    As a scot, I wished we had a roof over murrayfield. Rain isn't a major issue comapred to cardiff, being on the east coast, but man it can get really cold and get to below zero in later january / early february. not pleasant if sitting for 80 minutes.

  • Comment posted by jackbstard, at 12:26 15 Mar 2019

    Seems fair enough and quite straight forward.......impossible i know but god i wish the bbc and rest of these so called sports journalists would stop inventing ,prompting,and stirring up utter crap and concentrate and write a positive article on this fantastic occasion and wonderful six nations tournament

  • Comment posted by AndyN, at 12:39 15 Mar 2019

    As an Englishman (not entirely neutral), I can see both sides.
    It's hard enough going to Cardiff with roof open, never mind when it's closed. It does give a massive advantage to Wales as the crowd is deafening.
    These boys are used to playing outside, so don't feel too sorry for them - they'll cope.
    Looking forward to all the games - it's out of our hands for now, but a brilliant 6N all round.

  • Comment posted by U17523696, at 15:19 15 Mar 2019

    The Welsh love a reason to whine nearly as much as the scots.

  • Comment posted by cwmboi, at 15:11 15 Mar 2019

    Gatland wants a spectacle since when?

  • Comment posted by Munster, at 13:38 15 Mar 2019

    147. Posted by Nigles on

    "The ground is already sodden. The weather is expected to be exceptionally bad. There's a roof available. You would have expected Schmidt to have chosen the common sense option...for the sake of both sets of fans!"

    Last time Schmidt agreed to the roof being closed the groundsman deliberately over-watered the pitch. Gamesmanship has consequences.

  • Comment posted by Gilbert74, at 12:15 15 Mar 2019

    Gatland's comment " we do have a responsibility to the game for a spectacle," is laughable when you look at Wales' previous 4 performances.

  • Comment posted by U3246151, at 15:05 15 Mar 2019

    According to the forecast the win speed is now down to 20 knots and the chance of rain 50%.

    This doesn't sound like the raging typhoon set to wash Cardiff into the Bristol Channel that everyone is so angst-ridden about.

    Sounds like perfect rugby weather to me and a bit of fresh air never hurt anyone!

  • Comment posted by U3246151, at 12:44 15 Mar 2019

    Looks like dirty tricks in the past are coming home to roost for the Welsh Management. "Fool me once...." and all that.

    It will be interesting watch daffodil costumes disintegrating in the rain.

    I for one will be watching it in HD on widescreen by my log-burner with a glass of something red that's had a few hours to breathe.

    I believe the game at Twickenham is being playing outdoors too!

  • Comment posted by bill, at 15:06 15 Mar 2019

    Why would anyone want to watch rugby played in a glorified aircraft hanger.

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