Tonight's Munster MHC semi-final play-off between Waterford and Clare at Dungarvan has been postponed.

The sides (and their supporters!) had both arrived at the rather windy Fraher Field venue and were due to face-off at 7pm this evening for the right to meet Cork in a provincial semi-final on June 26th.

However, the game was called off about 20 minutes before the scheduled throw-in due to adverse weather conditions (i.e. strong winds).

No date has yet been announced for the re-fixture, but it has been confirmed that - due to the impracticality of issuing refunds tonight - general admission to the rearranged fixture will be free to everybody.

Shortly after the postponement, Munster Council released the following statement:

"Munster GAA regrets that the Munster Minor Hurling Championship Semi-Final Playoff game between Clare and Waterford scheduled for Fraher Field Dungarvan tonight (Wednesday April 17th) had to be postponed.

The game was cancelled in the interests of player safety which is of paramount importance. This decision was made by the referee, Anthony Sherlock, with the full support of both counties and Munster GAA. The game was cancelled at 6:40pm as soon as it became apparent that the ever increasing winds were dangerously high for everyone involved. The decision was then communicated to the patrons in attendance immediately. The game will be re-fixed in the coming days by the Munster GAA CCC.

With a few hundred people already in the ground, it was not feasible or practical to issue people with refunds. Various different categories of entrance applied on the night including free juveniles, juvenile groups, ticket holders, OAPs, students, press etc. It would have been impossible to distinguish between these people so the best approach is that all patrons will have free entry for the re-fixed game.

We realise this did not suit everybody but when totally exceptional circumstances apply as was the case on Wednesday night, it is not always possible to produce an outcome to everybody's satisfaction.

In relation to the timing of the decision to postpone tonight's game, the conditions at Fraher Field Dungarvan were monitored on a regular basis during Wednesday afternoon up to an hour before the throw-in time and the game was deemed playable. As conditions deteriorated in Dungarvan in the hour leading up to the game, a further inspection was carried out and the best decision in the circumstances was taken. We thank all our patrons for their patience in the circumstances." Tweet

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