Ospreys v Scarlets
The Ospreys Boxing Day derby match against the Scarlets at the Liberty Stadium has been postponed due to frozen pipes.
Although the playing surface remains playable due to the undersoil heating despite a prolonged period of cold weather, the night time temperature at the Liberty Stadium last night (Christmas Day) fell to -10c, resulting in the water pipes in the East, South and North Stands freezing solid. As a result there is no running water available in any of these areas.
Despite the best efforts of stadium staff, they have been unable to resolve this situation satisfactorily. As a result of this, the decision to postpone match was made by the Safety Officer of Swansea Stadium Management Company on the grounds of health and safety.
Dragons v Blues
Following a night-time temperature of -11 last night (Christmas Day) the pitch at Rodney Parade has frozen and the Newport Gwent Dragons Magners League game against the Cardiff Blues scheduled for Monday 27th December has been postponed.
In a statement issued by the club Stadium Manager, Mark Jones said. “We are obviously bitterly disappointed. The staff have worked really hard this week to try and ensure that tomorrow’s game will go ahead but we have been beaten by extraordinary weather conditions.”
The pitch has been covered in a blanket of snow all week lying on top of the frost covers which was due to be cleared by an army of supporters on the morning of the match as it was insulating the pitch which until last night was soft and playable.
“We would like to extend an enormous thank you to all of the supporters who offered to come in and help in the morning”, he said. “There is no doubt that without that help, the game would have been 100% off several days ago. Everyone at the region was blown away by the level of support that came from the fans. We’re terribly disappointed for all of our supporters who were clearly willing to put in a lot of work to see this game go ahead.
