Scotland’s law threat is wrong says former star
SCOTTISH Rugby are “completely wrong” to have raised the threat of legal action over World Rugby’s handling of Typhoon Hagibis, a former leading Scotland international has said.
The player, who spoke to
The Rugby Paper just as the typhoon began to strike the Tokyo area, said World Rugby were right to issue a defiant statement after Scottish Rugby announced they had taken legal advice from a QC over their pivotal match with Japan.
Mark Dodson, SR chief executive, believes Scotland’s qualificationdeciding Pool A game against the Brave Blossoms should be moved to Monday if it cannot be played in Yokohama today. He says two legal opinions that SR have taken are on his side.
However, there is unease among some senior figures in Scottish rugby about the stance SR is taking.
A former international, who is still well-connected with the international scene, said: “Scottish Rugby are completely wrong in what they have done and World Rugby’s rebuke put them firmly in their place”
World Rugby’s terms of participation, which Scotland signed along with the other 19 competing countries, state in Section 5.3 that: “Where a Pool match cannot be commenced on the day in which it is scheduled, it shall not be postponed to the following day and shall be considered as cancelled.”
On Thursday, in accordance with that regulation, World Rugby cancelled England’s clash with France and New Zealand’s match with Italy.
Conor O’Shea, the Italy head coach, has said he and the Italian Rugby Federation would be “fired up” if the Scotland game was rescheduled after his was cancelled.
The former Scotland player also told TRP: “It is in everyone’s interest to see this Scotland-Japan game go ahead, but let the due process take place.”
World Rugby were due to make a decision on the game at 8am-10am local time (midnight-2am BST) on Sunday.
Dodson insists the integrity of the tournament is at stake. He said: “All we’re asking for is a common sense approach that allows this game to be played in perfect safety 24 hours after the storm clears.
“This country has a phenomenal track record of getting things back up and running once they’ve had a storm. They’re used to them.
“We’re just saying, give this a little bit of time where the sporting integrity of this tournament is not compromised.
“We are questioning that principal statement in the participatory agreement that says there’s no flexibility and it will be cancelled.
“We’ve been preparing for four years like everyone else and the world wants to see this game take place.”
After Scotland raised the spectre of legal action on Friday, World Rugby issued a firmly worded statement. They said: “It is disappointing that the Scottish Rugby Union should make such comments at a time when we are doing everything we can to enable all Sunday’s matches to take place as scheduled, and when there is a real and significant threat to public safety owing to what is predicted to be one of the largest and most destructive typhoons to hit Japan since 1958.
“The core principle that could enable us to explore a departure from the terms of participation, is a fair and consistent application of the rescheduling for all teams in a safe environment for teams, fans and essential match services.
“The sheer predicted scale and impact of the typhoon, and the complexity of team movements for eight matches, meant that an even-handed application was just not possible without putting safety at risk. Therefore, it was the fair and correct decision for all teams to maintain the position outlined in the terms of participation.”