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Watford pitch 'ideal for rugby'

After 3 pitch inspections, some brave officiating by West Yorks ref Jonathon Moss, declared the drenched Vicarage Road pitch playable for the Watford-Cov clash but 4th official GS Evett deemed the conditions "ideal for rugby"…

…which is handy because Saracens are at home on the rain sodden surface today.

Never mind the large puddles of standing water or the fact the ball wouldn`t bounce or move more than 4 yards when kicked clear, these conditions made for an entertaining encounter which both managers had given the go ahead to.

Ok, so Dean Austin was in ref`s ear pushing for a postponement (despite Brendan Rodgers wanting to play!?!) and the pitch looked far from playable at 12noon but fair play to the officials who were keen to give the grass enough time to recover in the hope it 'got no worse`.

But the farcical conditions have bemused plenty of people. Not least Watford boss Brendan Rodgers who stated "I think we're a wee bit spoilt in this country because when the heavens open up the pitches are still fantastic normally.

"I was in at 10.45am, looked at the pitch and it wasn`t great. I had a walk and ruined my good shoes".

Chris Coleman though failed to see the funny side, surprisingly, after his side were left hung out to dry with Watford worthy of all 3 points.

The Cov boss slammed the state of the pitch, insisting "For both teams it was a mockery really….I think that in the end it was a little bit dangerous. I would not want to play in another game like that this season.

But Coleman did insist it wasn`t sour grapes over the result, confirming "It is not a complaint because we wanted to play the game…".




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Writer: Dr Watford Mail feedback, articles or suggestions

Date:Sunday December 14 2008

Time: 10:18AM

Your Comments

I wonder if he would have said anything if they had won I think not!!
Bedford Hornet
 

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