World Rugby have hit back at Scotland’s response to the crucial World Cup match against Japan potentially being called off due to a typhoon.
A furious row between SRU and World Cup has erupted after it came to light that the all-important Pool A clash between the hosts and Scotland on Sunday could potentially be called off if typhoon Hagibis makes landfall in Yokohama.
It the match is cancelled, Scotland are likely to miss out on a spot in the quarter-finals, with Japan and Ireland set to advance. If Hagibis does hit Yokohama, the SRU wants to move the game back by 24 hours from its current time of 7.45pm on Sunday to Monday at the same time and the organisation has already indicated that its planning to take legal action against World Rugby if their wish is not adhered to.
SRU chief executive Mark Dodson called a media briefing on Friday during which he accused World Rugby of going against the integrity of the World Cup.
In response, World Rugby have released a statement in which they reminded that Scotland had signed the original rules of a tournament, which state that a cancelled pool match cannot be rescheduled.
‘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,’ the governing body said.
‘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.
‘Along with the other 19 teams, the SRU signed the Rugby World Cup terms of participation. As outlined during Thursday’s media conference in Tokyo, 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 and fans.
‘The sheer predicted scale and impact of the typhoon, and the complexity of team movements for eight matches, meant that even-handed application was just not possible without putting safety at risk. Therefore it was a fair and correct decision for all teams to maintain the position outline in the terms of participation.’
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