Wigan's clash with Widnes on tonight but venue reversed

The newly-crowned world club champions took the decision on Thursday night to call off the fixture after heavy rain caused by Storm Doris left standing water on the pitch at the DW Stadium, which is due to host Wigan Athletic's Sky Bet Championship match against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

However, the clubs met for talks on Friday morning and announced the game will be played on the Vikings' all-weather surface at the Select Security Stadium, with the reverse fixture to be held at the DW Stadium on July 2.

The compromise agreement will not be enough to halt an investigation into Wigan's initial decision to unilaterally postpone the fixture but will help mitigate any punishment.

Warriors chairman Ian Lenagan says Widnes will receive compensation for staging the match at short notice.

"Directors of both clubs have been in discussions throughout the night and we believe that this is the best outcome for all involved," Lenagan said.

"The DW Stadium management have agreed to shorten the pitch renovation works scheduled for the summer to allow us to accommodate the reversed fixture.

"We understand the frustration of fans at the lateness of this change but we have collectively worked together to find the best case solution under the circumstances.

"The Wigan club will make a significant financial contribution to compensate Widnes for the short notice of the staging of this game and our sincere thanks go to Widnes CEO James Rule who has worked tirelessly with us to get this fixture on. We look forward to the game this evening."

The compromise agreement will not be enough to halt an investigation into Wigan's initial decision to unilaterally postpone the fixture but will help mitigate any punishment.

Warriors chairman Ian Lenagan says Widnes will receive compensation for staging the match at short notice.

"Directors of both clubs have been in discussions throughout the night and we believe that this is the best outcome for all involved," Lenagan said.

"The DW Stadium management have agreed to shorten the pitch renovation works scheduled for the summer to allow us to accommodate the reversed fixture.

"We understand the frustration of fans at the lateness of this change but we have collectively worked together to find the best case solution under the circumstances.

"The Wigan club will make a significant financial contribution to compensate Widnes for the short notice of the staging of this game and our sincere thanks go to Widnes CEO James Rule who has worked tirelessly with us to get this fixture on. We look forward to the game this evening."

Widnes chief executive James Rule, who revealed on Thursday night that his club were not consulted over the initial decision, said they had discussed but decided against pursuing a claim for the points.

He also said the clubs ruled out a re-arrangement for a mid-week slot later in the season due to player welfare issues.

"Last night's announcement caught us by surprise," Rule said. "As a club we have worked into the early hours of the morning, liaising with the RFL and Wigan Warriors to ascertain the options available to us.

"One option was to seek a re-scheduling of this fixture at a later stage of the season. In our opinion, that was not a tenable option in light of the physical challenges of already having the Easter weekend fixtures and a second short turnaround weekend to facilitate the mid-season international.

"To then try and accommodate another week with three games would be foolhardy from both a performance and player welfare point of view.

"That left us with two options: to leave the matter in the hands of the RFL board and pursue our club being awarded the two points, as a consequence of potential misconduct and breach of operational rules by Wigan Warriors.

"However, with an independent RFL board, there is no guarantee that such an outcome would be achieved, which would leave us back in the starting position of having to accommodate a re-scheduled fixture.

"We therefore deemed it in the best interest of the club to work with the stadium management and take on this fixture; I am immensely grateful for their support in facilitating this at such short notice."

Rule said the club had decided to cut admission prices to £10 as a gesture to both sets of supporters.