Leeds v Castleford - explanation

The Castleford match has been confirmed as being re-arranged for this Sunday 5th March, kick off 3pm, at Headingley Carnegie Stadium.

The original fixture was postponed at 7pm by referee Phil Bentham after concerns regarding a patch of frozen ground near the South Stand side.

However, Head Groundsman Jason Booth and his team will be working round the clock to ensure Sunday's fixture gets the go ahead.

Booth commented after the game, "We have had a constant dialogue with the Board all day about conditions and at 5 o'clock the pitch was passed fit to play. The pitch was 95% playable at 7pm unfortunately there was a patch that the referee deemed dangerous.

"We had anticipated the bad weather from forecasts and the frost sheets went down on Wednesday afternoon. We also had hot air blowers on the South Stand touchline as this area is prone to freezing because the sun does not get over the stand. However, the heaters had to be taken off when the turnstiles opened and a drop in temperature has caused an area to stiffen up.

"We will work round the clock to make sure everything possible is again done to get the game on on Sunday. The fact that it is a 3pm kick will make a big difference as the ground temperature will be above freezing. If the game had been at 3pm today we could have played, if the game had been at 5pm today we could have played."

Operations Director Steve Ball also praised supporters for their actions after the postponement, "I would like thank the supporters for the manner they treated the announcement of the postponement. We were disappointed to have the game called off at such a late stage especially for the fans but the way they conducted themselves, both Leeds and Castleford supporters, was a credit to their clubs."

The club also confirmed that the snow that fell on Friday afternoon had no bearing on the decision over the game. The majority of the snow had already been cleared from the frost sheets and there was no snow on the playing surface.

All tickets for Friday's game are valid for Sunday's re-arranged fixture and anyone who requires any further details should contact the Headingley Carnegie ticket office which is open from 9am until 12 noon on Saturday.