Frozen pitch worries French

Marcoussis - France wing Vincent Clerc said the bitterly cold weather gripping France could render the Stade de France pitch dangerous and unplayable even if Saturday's Six Nations clash with Ireland gets the go ahead.

Temperatures are once again expected to fall below zero when the game in the French capital kicks off at 20:00 GMT.

The pitch has been covered all week and the French federation has said the match will go ahead.

Clerc said it would be "dangerous" to play on.

"If it's minus 7 (degrees Celsius) on Saturday, there is reason for concern over the frozen pitch. It was already frozen when we played Italy (last Saturday). The parts near the touchline were frozen," Clerc told reporters on Wednesday.

The French federation said that hot-air blowers and covers were expected to maintain a pitch temperature of around 3 degrees Celsius.

Like much of Europe, France has been hit by a cold snap, with temeratures dropping as low as minus 10 degrees in the outskirts of Paris.