WORLD RUGBY HAS referred the Scottish Rugby Union to an independent disputes committee for their comments when Scotland’s World Cup clash against Japan was in threat of being cancelled.
The Scots’ meeting with the hosts, which they lost when it did go ahead, had been in doubt due to Typhoon Hagibis hitting Japan last Saturday, a day before the scheduled meeting at International Stadium Yokohama.
The SRU had been livid at the prospect of Scotland being knocked out of the World Cup without having the chance to play Japan, with the union’s chief executive, Mark Dodson, going as far as to threaten legal action against World Rugby.
The sport’s governing body expressed its disappointment at the Scottish comments before Sunday’s game, which eventually went ahead after a major fix-up operation ensured the stadium in Yokohama was playable.
Scotland were beaten 28-21 by Japan when the fixture went ahead and World Rugby has now added to the Scottish pain by referring the SRU to a disputes committee.
“We are very careful that people behave appropriately and we have referred to an independent disputes committee the comments by the Scottish Rugby Union and it would be inappropriate to comment further,” said RWC2019 tournament director, Alan Gilpin at a media briefing in Tokyo today.
That the game went ahead only hours after a typhoon had passed through Yokohama was a real achievement for World Rugby and local authorities.
“Putting any match on is complex and to put it on in these circumstances is remarkable,” said Gilpin.
“There are members of the venue staff who slept in the venue to make sure they could start assessing the impact. There were people working whose houses had been destroyed that day.”
The Scots will take a draw from the independent disputes committee if it’s on the table.
@Martin Kennedy: I wonder as a gesture of appreciation to those that worked so hard to facilitate their game but lost homes, if they stuck around to help them with the cleanup like the Canadians. Something tells me they didnt…
Throw the book at them
Surely by ensuring the game went ahead while others were cancelled is enough proof to justify Scotland’s stance. The authorities are just taking the moral high ground. Not a leg to stand on.
@Verandah: People died. Wise up.
@Verandah: becoming more risible by the day
@Hirrison Mirk: not only did they give the go ahead for the game, they allowed the stadium to open for its 70k capacity. If there were health and safety concerns, the local authorities would not have allowed that to happen. Wise up
@John Buckley: 70k capacity? Where did you pull that figure from?
@Verandah: They didn’t ensure it went ahead. It went ahead because the storm had passed and they were able to get the stadium ready for the game. Two of the games that were cancelled were scheduled in the middle of the storm so the Scotland game would’ve been cancelled if it’d been scheduled that day. They were lucky their game was on Sunday and not Saturday.
@Dave O Keeffe: try Google. What’s your point because it is an idiotic question.
@John Buckley: no issue with the Scotland game going ahead, just with people who think the decision was made because Scotland moaned.
@John Buckley: my mistake, it was an idiotic question, for some reason I had Fukuoka in my head.
The only union not to improve since the six nations has been formed. Can’t back up there talk on the pitch. Ex players building a bad team up.
@Michael Anthony: yet they have got to a world cup SF, something Ireland have never managed
@John Buckley: by beating Samoa in 1991 (before professionalism).
@Richard: ah in fairness they were robbed of one in 2015
@Richard: by beating Ireland and Japan and topping their group to get a favorable QF. Ireland played in the ameteur era as well and couldn’t get to a SF.
@John Buckley: We’ve topped groups too, so not sure what your point is.
@Richard: my point is obvious; they got to a SF, Ireland never have. How do you and the OP think you can mock them? They were the best team at the end of the 5 nation’s so they can’t improve on that (takes an idiot to mock them about it) and they have progressed further than Ireland in Rugby World Cup history so the Irish can hardly mock them
@John Buckley: so are you saying they have improved since the 6 nations was formed?
Can they report themselves for the farcical planning around the RWC regarding dates and contingency planning?
Brought their own game into disrepute
Independent committee that has already received the memo and even the colour of the carpet that everything will be swept under ..
Certainly know how to do worlds worst PR.
The Scots acted appallingly, the game was always going to ahead but their threats seemed intent to try and pressure those to ignore healthy and safety concerns in the event it wasn’t. They wanted to put lives at risk over a game… The world will think a lot less of Scotland and the Scottish people after their outbursts.
Italy actually had their game cancelled in the same situation as opposed to a threat of it and didn’t sink to such lows.
If the Scots were banned from participating in the 2023 world cup it would be poetic justice after they voted against us hosting it.
owens a referee ,if england had that chance jones would be watering at the mouth to break all the rules and bully this new zealand team and use there kicking game.. i think its a coin toss between sa nz and england now , owens has shown way too much favoritism towards this team he robbed the aussies 2015 and definitely robbed us in 2013
@Paddy D: wrong article thats weird haha
@Paddy D: You have a three sided coin?
We would have reacted the exact same way. Imagine if Ireland ended up going home in the back of world rugby’s failure to create effective contingency plans. There would be uproar.
World rugby need to look at themselves and the mess they have made with the fixture cancellations.
Kick World Rugby Out Of Rugby!
#wasters