A meeting took place at Murrayfield on 16th January 2014 between representatives of Glasgow Hawks and the Scottish Rugby Union.

The meeting was held at the request of Glasgow Hawks to discuss their concerns about the way in which the SRU has dealt with issues arising from an incident on the 27th October 2013. As a result of that incident 4 Glasgow Warriors players have been charged with assaulting a Glasgow Hawks player to his severe injury.

Glasgow Hawks were represented at the meeting by their President, Charles Afuakwah and head coach, Jamie Dempsey. The union was represented by chief executive Mark Dodson and General Legal Counsel, Robert Howat. Dr Donald Macleod, the President of the SRU was also in attendance. Glasgow Hawks were pleased and encouraged that the SRU had agreed to meet with them to discuss their concerns. It had been hoped by Glasgow Hawks that a joint statement could be issued to reflect the general content of that meeting, unfortunately that has not been possible, thus the reason for the delay in issuing this statement.

Glasgow Hawks concerns were that the union had failed to respond appropriately to the incident on 27th October and part of that failure was in relation firstly, to the union’s failure to accept that a duty of care was owed by them to Ally Maclay, the victim of the alleged assault, and secondly, that the union had failed to act appropriately in dealing with the 4 players accused of perpetrating that assault. Three of those four players have been chosen to represent Scotland this weekend.

The meeting was open and constructive with both Glasgow Hawks and the Union gaining a clearer understanding of each other’s concerns. A thorough and wide ranging discussion took place and the Union explained that they had dealt with the matters arising having regard to the legal advice given to them and which they felt obliged to follow. Whilst Glasgow Hawks did not agree with the position advanced by the Union they respected that the Union was required to act in accordance with the advice tendered to it.

Throughout this sad episode Glasgow Hawks have endeavoured to act in the best interests of Ally Maclay and the club game in Scotland and have adopted a constructive approach in their dialogue with the Union. It appears that the union will not be in a position to decide on what further steps to take, if any, until the criminal process is concluded.

Jamie Dempsey said: “This has been a difficult time for Ally Maclay, his family, Glasgow Hawks and the wider club community in Scotland and pending resolution of the criminal legal process it is time to return our attention to the game of rugby.”

This article was posted on 30-Jan-2014, 12:07 by Hugh Barrow.