Scotland hit by fallout from typhoon comment

THE Scottish Rugby Union has “expressed its regret” and will not challenge World Rugby further over its formal reprimand in the wake of the World Cup, the governing body has announced.

The SRU was reprimanded following comments made by chief executive Mark Dodson during the World Cup, and has now made a £70,000 donation to World Rugby.

Tensions rose during the recent tournament in Japan as Scotland’s pivotal group clash with the hosts was put under threat by the typhoon.

With Scotland needing to win the game to have a chance of progression, Dodson said at a press conference that he did not want his side to be “collateral damage” of the fallout of the typhoon.

The game in question did go ahead, and Scotland lost 28-21 to crash out of the tournament. But amid the uncertainty of whether or not the fixture would be played at the Yokohama Stadium, Dodson refused to rule out taking legal action in the event of a postponement.

In announcing the decision of an Independent Disputes Committee, World Rugby had said Dodson’s comments, “which suggested an unfair and disorganised treatment of all teams”, merited an official reprimand, a written apology and a £70,000 sanction.

The issue has now been resolved with the donation, and yesterday World Rugby said in a statement: “World Rugby can confirm that the Scottish Rugby Union has expressed its regret and has confirmed it will not challenge World Rugby further on this matter.”