Scotland Rugby Union has been fined and told to write a "meaningful apology" by World Rugby after their comments made during the Rugby World Cup over the potential cancellation of their pool match with Japan due to Typhoon Hagibis.
World Rugby said in a statement two charges were made in line with the Rugby World Cup 2019 Terms of Participation and World Rugby Regulation 20.2 (Misconduct and Code of Conduct).
“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.
"Having considered all the evidence, including submissions by World Rugby and the SRU, the committee determined in respect of the first charge that comments attributed to Mark Dodson amounted to misconduct and brought the game into disrepute."
World Rugby says that the SRU is formally reprimanded for its conduct and have been fined NZ$140,000.
After Rugby World Cup organisers said there was a chance the Scotland v Japan match - which would decided who joined Ireland in leaving Pool A - would be cancelled due to the threat of Typhoon Hagibis, Scotland blasted organisers as that result would see them eliminated from the competition.
SRU boss Mark Dodson publically said during Scotland's team announcement for the game they would consider legal action against World Rugby if the game didn't go ahead. Those comments were also reiterated in the UK Telegraph newspaper and the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
Along with the fine, World Rugby have told SRU to "issue in writing a meaningful apology to World Rugby and RWCL for its misconduct in terms approved by the committee".
“The international federation believed that such comments brought the game into disrepute, not only in relation to World Rugby’s handling of an extraordinary situation, but also in the message that it sent to the Japanese people."
World Rugby said the money from the fine would be be donated to the Childfund Pass it Back programme to assist with the ongoing relief effort in areas affected by Typhoon Hagibis.
Despite the off-field dramas, the game was played out and Japan claimed a historic 28-21 win, knocking Scotland out of the competition and leaving the hosts undefeated in pool play.
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