Cardiff’s clash with Zebre, which was due to be played at the Arms Park on Friday night, has been postponed because of a red weather warning and the forecast of dangerously high winds.
A decision has been taken to reschedule the United Rugby Championship fixture for a later date, in the health and safety interests of all staff and team personnel involved.
Additionally, due to the severe weather warning, Zebre’s air travel could not be guaranteed, while logistical and facilities challenges do not allow for the game to be played on either Saturday or Sunday.
The decision has been made in consultation with the two teams and BBC Wales as the host broadcasters, with rescheduling details to follow from URC.
It adds further to the fixture backlog Cardiff are facing following a number of their matches having been postponed due to Covid-related issues.
Their back-to-back URC matches out in South Africa have been rearranged for next month, but they still have to find a new date for their Rodney Parade meeting with the Dragons, which was originally supposed to take place on New Year’s Day, and now this game against Zebre.
Two matches which were due to be staged at the Arms Park on Wednesday evening were unable to be played there. That was because of damage to the casing of one of the floodlights, caused by high winds amid Storm Dudley.
Cardiff University’s BUCS SuperRugby match against Leeds Beckett was called off, while the Cardiff v Dragons U18s game was moved to Ystrad Mynach.
The damage has now been repaired and Dai Young’s team were able to train at the Arms Park on Thursday morning.
But there is more bad weather on the way, with Storm Eunice set to batter the country on Friday.
A very rare red warning has been issued for parts of Wales, including Cardiff, with winds in excess of 90mph expected.
People have been warned to stay indoors, with many schools shut and all trains cancelled on Friday.
Now the Zebre game has been postponed as well.
The Met Office red warning, the most severe, runs from 7am until 12 noon on Friday for parts of south Wales, with a less severe amber warning covering the rest of the country from 3am until 9pm.
For context, the last time the Met Office issued a red warning for wind was in March 2018.
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