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World Cup in court? Furious Scotland make incredible threat
The devastation of Typhoon Hagibis could send this already-chaotic World Cup into the court room following revelations of Scottish rugby officials threatening legal action against World Rugby to ensure their do-or-die clash against Japan takes place on Sunday.
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Scotland’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the tournament have been jeopardised by the anticipated arrival of the typhoon in Japan, which has forced the cancellation of the England vs France and New Zealand vs Italy fixtures, which were set to take place on Saturday.
Currently lying in third place in Pool A, Scotland need a victory against the Brave Blossoms to finish in a top two spot in their group, which would solidify their place in the quarter-finals, but the looming threat of Typhoon Hagibis could be enough to call the game off altogether.
Such an outcome would see Scotland remain in third place and miss out on a play-offs spot for just the second time in their history.
An announcement issued by World Rugby on Thursday stated that an official decision would be made on Sunday as to whether the fixture would go ahead as scheduled.
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According to the Telegraph, the Scots’ legal advice is that under tournament rules, there is flexibility to adjust the playing schedule in case of a force majeure, of which Typhoon Hagibis evidently is.
A series of elongated and fiery meetings were held throughout Thursday, which reportedly left Scottish Rugby’s chief executive Mark Dodson “in a state of apoplexy” as he and chief operating officer Dominic McKay fought to keep their nation’s World Cup hopes alive.
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It is believed Scotland’s preferred outcome is to move the game back 24 hours from its current time of 7:45pm on Sunday to the same time on Monday.
The All Blacks head coach's infamous wry sense of humour was on full display at a press conference on Thursday. #RWC2019 https://t.co/9bYEoWrXnV
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 10, 2019
They have stressed that at that stage, Typhoon Hagibis is expected to have passed Yokohama, where the game is to be played.
If the game is cancelled, however, the match will be declared a draw, leaving the Scots at least three points short of Ireland, who are heavily expected to defeat Samoa in their final pool match in Fukuoka on Saturday.
The revelations come after members of the Italian squad were said to be left “utterly heartbroken” at the sudden cancellation of their clash against the All Blacks without any prior warning.
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Both head coach Conor O’Shea and captain Sergio Parisse were in Tokyo waiting to announce their team for Saturday’s match at 1pm yesterday when they received notification from World Rugby about the fate of the clash at 12:59pm.
While attaining a maiden victory over the back-to-back reigning world champions would have been extremely unlikely, Italy’s aspirations of appearing in the World Cup knockout stages for the first time ever hindered on that match.
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The cancellation of England’s fixture against France also denied the French a chance at claiming top spot in Pool C, with tournament director Alan Gilpin insistent that a precedent has been set and that a “one size fits all” approach is the only fair way to proceed.
A senior spokesman for Scottish Rugby has brandished World Rugby’s handling of the affair as “shambolic” and “embarrassing”, and that unless it adheres to its own tournament rules, Scotland will have no choice but to take immediate legal action.
“We’re willing to do whatever it takes to get this game [between Scotland and Japan] on,” said the spokesman.
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“There are 10,000 Scotland supporters here to see their team play, and for the integrity of the sport and this tournament, we’ve got to find a way to deliver on our undertaking to stage this game.
“World Rugby said three or four months ago that they had contingency plans in place to address any problems or challenges that might occur, and we took them at their word.
“We now expect them to deploy those contingency plans and ensure this match goes ahead. The fans, players and everyone who loves rugby will demand nothing less. The whole situation is almost beyond belief.”
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
This sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
12 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
77 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
12 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
12 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
12 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
12 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
12 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
44 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to comments