Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
SRU are ready to fight their corner in dispute
SCOTLAND are q uest ion i ng whet he r World Rugby has the right to charge them over their World Cup typhoon row.
Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) chief executive Mark Dodson sparked an angry response from the governing body over his comments ahead of Sunday’s storm-threatened pool clash against Japan in Yokohama.
He hinted at legal action if the match was called off after revealing he had sought the advice of a top London QC in a bid to force World Rugby to postpone the clash as Typhoon Hagibis closed in.
However, that did not go down well with tournament organisers, who have now confirmed they will convene a hearing of its independent disputes committee to decide whether the SRU’s “comments and behaviours” are a breach of rules.
The SRU, however, is ready to fight its corner. A spokesperson said: “Scottish Rugby once again expresses its sincere condolences to the people of Japan and all those affected by Typhoon Hagibis which struck weekend.
“We have been able to convey our best wishes directly to the mayor of Yokohama and the chairman of the Japanese Rugby Union. We stand with the great people of Japan.
“Following receipt of correspondence yesterday from World Rugby, Scottish Rugby confirms that it has received a notice of complaint from Rugby World Cup Ltd. Scottish Rugby is querying whether the matter is an appropriate one for the bringing of misconduct charges.
last
“If misconduct proceedings are to proceed, Scottish Rugby looks forward to receiving a fair hearing in this matter. No further comment would be appropriate at this time.”
Had the game been called off, it would have been declared a draw and Scotland would have been knocked out.
As it turned out, Hagibis did not hit Yokohama as badly as predicted and the match was able to proceed as planned.
However, it turned out to be a miserable night for the Scots as they lost 28-21.