Friday night Six Nations games 'presenting new challenges'

Wednesday 24 February 2010
Published By:
Six Nations > France

The Friday night Six Nations games introduced last year and continuing this weekend in Cardiff present a whole host of new challenges to players and organisers alike, one pundit has observed.

Jonathan Evans, writing for Wales Online, said it takes a special effort to sort out policing, ground staff and logistics outside the stadium in the same way that the coaches of each team will have had to plan training and warm-ups around the later kick-off.

Millennium Stadium manager Gerry Toms told the source that Friday night games are a "culture change" but Wales coach Warren Gatland remained upbeat that playing on a different day will not cause his side to lose their edge.

"We have tried something a little bit different and pushed everything back to alter our training patterns this week so that the guys get themselves familiar with the later kick-off," he revealed.

Meanwhile, Wales' opposition this Friday will be without Benjamin Fall, after the France winger sprained his ankle in training yesterday, providing yet another twist in the tale.

Posted by David Rawlings