SRU set to fight back after World Rugby fine for typhoon controversy

THE Scottish Rugby Union have indicated they are unlikely to quietly accept the formal reprimand, £70,000 fine and demand for an apology that was issued to them at lunchtime yesterday by the global game’s governing body

The punishment follows a dispute over the threat of cancellation to last month’s crucial World Cup pool match between Scotland and host nation Japan due to the impact of Typhoon Hagibis.

The sanction relates to comments made by SRU chief executive

Mark Dodson to the media two days before the match was due to be played in Yokohama.

Dodson stated in a radio interview and then during a press conference that he had received legal advice to the effect that the game could be moved, if necessary, to a venue away from the storm’s path.

Scotland needed to play the game and win to progress to the quarterfinals. A cancellation would have meant the match being recorded as a draw and Scotland dropping out the tournament at the pool stage.

In the event, the game went ahead because the storm did not impact Yokohama to the level predicted earlier in the week, and Scotland lost – which meant they were knocked out anyway – but that wasn’t the end of the matter.

Tournament organisers Rugby World Cup Limited (who are a wholly-owned subsidiary of World Rugby) announced a few days later they had filed a misconduct complaint.

The World Rugby Disciplinary Panel has now found the SRU were guilty of “egregious behaviour, sitting towards the most serious end of the misconduct spectrum” which had “brought the game into disrepute”.

This seems fairly hysterical when measured against other possible misconduct charges such as racism, homophobia, doping and matchfixing. The panel also acknowledged the threat of legal action, which was a key component of the case against the SRU, was inferred rather than explicitly stated.

The SRU queried whether it was appropriate to bring misconduct charges on this issue when the complaint was first made against them in mid-October, and in a tweet yesterday lunchtime they indicated their stance has not changed, stating: “We will now reflect on this outcome and further consider all our options, which may include arbitration.”

Getting the issue in front of the

Court of Arbitration in Sport [CAS] – the Swiss-based quasi-judicial body established to settle disputes related to sport – will not be straightforward. It will require World Rugby’s co-operation, which they will be reluctant to grant given it would effectively put their own judicial process under the microscope. So it is only likely to happen if public pressure compels them to do so to demonstrate the robustness of their ruling.

World Rugby insisted at the time no change of venue was possible because the rules needed to be applied consistently across all teams in the tournament. Two other pool matches – England versus France and New Zealand versus Italy – had already been cancelled, and the second of those cancellations, in particular, was problematic because it had killed off Italy’s faint hopes of proceeding to the quarter-finals, thus creating a precedent that Dodson was fighting against.

“We’re not going to be collateral damage for a decision taken in haste,” he stated at the time, which was one of the phrases used against him in yesterday’s ruling.

The panel was also unimpressed with Dodson suggesting World Rugby would have responded differently had an “economic powerhouse” such as New Zealand been in the firing line.

“World Rugby strongly believed the comments, which suggested an unfair and disorganised treatment of all teams, to be inappropriate and ill-judged at a time when Japan was preparing for the largest and most destructive typhoon in decades,” said a statement from the global governing body yesterday.

It is understood Scottish Rugby are particularly troubled by the suggestion they did not take the human impact of the storm seriously, and it does seem this is a cynical conflation of two issues.

During his press briefing, Dodson was at pains to stress safety was the primary concern and he had every faith the host nation would do everything possible to get the game on if possible.

Rugby World Cup Limited have been the focus of scathing criticism over their lack of contingency planning for the possibility of a major typhoon hitting Japan during typhoon season, but this has not yet been investigated.

“Prior to its decision, the committee gave the parties ample time to resolve the dispute,” said yesterday’s statement. “World Rugby made an open offer to the SRU which required the SRU to apologise for its conduct and make a donation to the Typhoon disaster relief fund in Japan. The SRU suggested alternative wording which included a mutual expression of regret from both parties, and no apology.”

SCOTLAND lock Sam Skinner is targeting a return from injury in time to be included in the Six Nations Championship squad, and could well make his comeback against Glasgow in the Champions Cup just after the turn of the year.

The 24-year-old Exeter Chiefs forward looked certain to be named in Gregor Townsend’s squad for the World Cup, but tore a hamstring in the warm-up match against France at BT Murrayfield in August and has been out of action since.

Now, though, he is well down the road to recovery, and is confident he will be available to play for his club

SUPER6, the new part-time professional league set up to provide a stepping stone for ambitious youngsters and club players into the professional game, finally gets going tonight when Boroughmuir Bears host Stirling County at their Meggetland base in west Edinburgh.

Southern Knights [the Super6 arm of Melrose] will then take on Watsonians on the new 3G pitch at

The Greenyards tomorrow afternoon, with Ayrshire

Bulls and Heriot’s meeting at Millbrae on Sunday afternoon.

While all six teams have taken part in training matches against each other during the last month, there is a real sense of mystery as to how each side will fare once the live bullets start flying.

Boroughmuir finished lowest in last season’s Premiership of all the Super6 teams but have 20 new faces in their 35-man Super6 squad, and head coach Graham Shiel says he is confident his side will be competitive.

“It is a really important year for the club as it’s our centenary, and hopefully Super6 is a real shot in the arm in terms of something slightly new and progressive – something for the kids in our development programmes to aspire to,” he said.

“There is definitely a real purpose around the club, and the work that has been going on behind the scenes to support the squad and support Super6 as a whole is phenomenal.”