Scotland facing action from World Rugby over comments

WORLD Rugby has referred the Scottish Rugby Union to an Independent Disputes Committee following the furore that surrounded the Pool A decider against Japan.

SRU chief Mark Dodson threatened to take legal action against the game’s governing body when it appeared the crucial game might be called off because of the impact of Typhoon Hagibis.

That scenario would have dumped Scotland out of the World Cup without the chance to play their final game.

Tournament Director Alan Gilpin said: “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.

“The rules specify that matches in the pool phase will be cancelled. This is not new to RWC 2019. We have back-up venues, but the rules do not allow for those to be used in pool matches. No decisions were made based on pressure from unions.”

Furious Dodson said last week: “We don’t want to get in some sort of legal arm wrestle with World Rugby, we don’t want to criticise them, but we do believe that we are being timed out in this competition, and being timed out is not a comfortable place to be,” said Dodson.

“Scotland will be collateral damage and it is not something we will be prepared to sit back and take.

“Right from the get-go, we said to World Rugby we will play any place, anywhere.

“We will play behind closed doors, we’ll play in full stadiums. We will travel the length and breadth of Japan. There was no response to that.”

He added: “I think most people feel that if it was one of the economic powerhouses of the game like, as you say, New Zealand, perhaps more thought would have been given to a flexible approach.”

It was a row that threatened to tarnish the entire tournament, but the game did eventually go ahead, with Japan beating the Scots 28-21 in a thriller at Yokohama Stadium.