Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.<\/p>\n
The late summer heatwave in France has dialled up the humidity and made the official Gilbert match ball extremely difficult to handle in some matches during the opening rounds of the Rugby World Cup, with players explaining that the ball has at times resembled \u201ca bar of soap\u201d.<\/p>\n
Late-night kick-offs have been cited as a factor, with the humidity increasing during the evenings and therefore increasing the amount of sweat and dew on the ball, particularly in the south of France.<\/p>\n
George Ford, the England five-eighth, acknowledged after his side\u2019s win over Japan in Nice that sweaty conditions had made maintaining possession with ball in hand a trickier task.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to understand how difficult it is out there,\u201d Ford said. \u201cIt may not look it from the stands or on TV, but it\u2019s actually more difficult than if it was throwing it [rain] down \u2013 because of the grease and the sweat on the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
But after moist conditions challenged England in first Marseille and then Nice, their remaining two matches in the pool stages are set to be played on France\u2019s north coast in Lille, closer to their Le Touquet training base and in cooler, drier climes.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe it will make a huge difference,\u201d Ford added. \u201cWe don\u2019t know yet but for the first two games, it\u2019s been like a bar of soap, that ball, at times.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
England playmaker George Ford gets a kick away under pressure.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n There have been more handling errors on average so far at the Stade de Nice, 22.5 per match, where England played on Sunday night than at any other ground. Stade de Marseille, the scene for England\u2019s gritty victory over Argentina, has produced 19.5 handling errors per match, with Argentina largely responsible for that number following 16 in that game.<\/p>\n One World Cup assistant coach said the humidity had meant the balls were \u201ctravelling well in the air off the boot\u201d but that they were \u201charder to handle\u201d during the 9pm kick-offs, citing the effects of both sweat and dew on the ball.<\/p>\n Both of England\u2019s matches so far have been in that late slot, when the humidity has often risen to a daily high to make conditions that little bit harder for players under the lights. Their next two matches against Chile and Samoa kick off at 5.45pm local time.<\/p>\n Jonny Wilkinson, the former England five-eighth, who spent several years playing in France with Toulon, addressed the problems posed by playing that late during ITV\u2019s half-time coverage of the game against Japan. Wilkinson compared the England-Japan fixture to Fiji\u2019s win over Australia earlier in the day in Saint-Etienne, where there were notably fewer unforced handling errors and knock-ons largely stemmed from physical tackles, such as Eroni Mawi\u2019s hit on young Wallabies No.10 Carter Gordon.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a night-time game, whereas the Fiji-Australia game was a lot drier,\u201d Wilkinson said. \u201cI\u2019ve been in those conditions in France, I know what it\u2019s like kicking off at 9 o\u2019clock at night compared to in the afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n Two assistant coaches said the actual grip on the balls is fine, with any issues only blamed on the conditions. Teams get their hands on match-day balls for the first time during the captain\u2019s run at the stadium the day before when going through their final training session. This is the first time the balls are \u201ckicked in\u201d, meaning the balls are close to brand new in terms of their level of grip by the time kick-off arrives the following day.<\/p>\n The average temperature and humidity levels across France are also expected to drop next weekend compared with the last few days, potentially making life easier for teams to avoid handling errors during evening matches including Ireland\u2019s game against South Africa at the Stade de France in Paris, plus Australia\u2019s must-win meeting with Wales in Lyon.<\/p>\n