NOTTINGHAM Rugby have been getting by with a little help from their friends.

The Green and Whites have had two matches called off because of a frozen pitch and been unable to train outdoor at Lady Bay for the last ten days.

Tomorrow's game against Leeds Carnegie at Meadow Lane (3pm) relies on a 9am inspection in the morning as there has been a slight increase in the temperature but they are hopeful that the game will go ahead.

With the arctic spell playing havoc with sport in general, Nottingham have been relying on their friends and neighbours to get them through.

Yesterday they trained at Nottingham Forest's indoor centre on Wilford Lane. But all through this week, South Notts College, David Lloyd's West Bridgford, the National Water Sports Centre at Holme Pierrepont and the National Ice Centre have supported the rugby club.

"We trained on the Forest indoor facilities yesterday," said Nottingham's director of rugby Glenn Delaney.

"We all help each other out. It doesn't cost us anything.

"That's the best thing I can say about Nottingham sport; everyone helps each other and that's the way it is.

"Nottingham sport has had a big knock this week with the death of Nigel Doughty.

"He was a visionary in terms of sport in the city and he was a very keen supporter of all the sports.

"It's hell of a good city for sport. From our point of view, we are looking at it from the fact that we need to go achieve something.

"It's times like this when you think what Nottingham has got and what it has achieved in sport. It has a brilliant history.

"But it's been a week tinged with sadness on Nigel's passing and it does put things into prospective."

The visit of Juan Socino, Ayoola Erinle, Kieran Hallett, David Jackson, Sean Romans and Finlay Barnham to the National Ice Centre proved there aren't any Christopher Dean's hiding in their midst.

"The visit to the Ice Centre was more fun than anything else," said Delaney. "It was a chance to break up the general routine for some of them.

"Some of them couldn't stand up. They were like Bambi on ice, but it was fun and they enjoyed the session."

While scrum-half Barnham and inside centre Socino were all style on the ice and New Zealander Romans and the flashy Hallett were at ease in the chilly surrounds, there were others who just couldn't find their footing.

Former England international Erinle is already booked in for further lessons, while David Jackson knows there is room for improvement if he is to emulate childhood idols, Torvill and Dean.

Erinle joked: "We may end up playing on the ice the way things are carrying on. It's not ideal with games being frozen off at the moment, so there is a bit of symmetry about us being out here working out on the ice."

After coming down with a thump while trying to shuffle along on his blades, Erinle could appreciate what it takes to glide with ball in hand.

"I'm a land-based animal, so the ice is very much foreign territory for me," Erinle said.

"This is something we might have to incorporate into our training as part of our agility work.

"It's nice watching the smaller guys out there who are just so much more at ease than us big lumps."

Sociono, who has been the club's most consistent player this season, said: "Even though we don't have ice hockey in Argentina, I was born to do this.

"I loved watching Blades of Glory and that has helped me with my ability on skates.

"It also helps that Finlay is my housemate and we dance about a bit, so we have routines and footwork that we could bring onto the ice."

Delaney is delighted at the way his squad is enjoying the break from their usual training schedule.

He said: "We were at Holme Pierrpont at the gymnasium there on Wednesday, we've used the rubber crumb at South Notts College and we've been inside at David Lloyd's in West Bridgford.

"The one good thing is that it takes the mundane routine out of what we do but we don't want to get away from that for too long. It's like having a refresher without the refresher taking you away from the focus of what you really do."

Nottingham are now hoping the weather relents for them to play their re-arranged fixture against Doncaster Knights at Meadow Lane on Wednesday night (7.45pm).

"We will be ready when the thaw does set in," said Delaney. "It seems ages since we had a game at Meadow Lane and the players are desperate to play in front of their home fans.

"Hopefully, we can do that on Wednesday night."