EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS
BILL LOTHIAN ([email protected])
EDINBURGH RUGBY owner Bob Carruthers today turned up the heat on reeling Murrayfield bosses by insisting any breakdown in the deal to bring Wallaby superstar Stephen Larkham to the Capital could provoke legal action.

Following an admission by the Scottish Rugby Union that the body is now willing to enter mediation to settle a dispute over payments allegedly due to the club, Carruthers said he wanted matters to be resolved, finally, today.

And, he confirmed he would be attending a disciplinary meeting tonight along with fellow directors with a view to rejecting charges that they acted improperly by withdrawing internationalists from World Cup training though Carruthers' jocular approach -"I'd be prepared to accept being banned from matches like last season's 48-0 defeat by Cardiff" - contrasted sharply with his mood regarding the Larkham deal.

"I want to speak with Stephen Larkham's agent tomorrow and tell him that matters are resolved for the better. Not only do I want fans to start looking forward to seeing Stephen Larkham in action but investors will now come in and start developing the game and increasing the number of pro teams up to the four which is what we were looking at when getting involved in the first place." Arguing that there was no reason why matters could not be debated today, Carruthers claimed the consequences of SRU failure to act quickly would be severe.

"If we lose out on Larkham there is going to be a huge claim stemming directly from an ill-advised SRU press release claiming that Edinburgh could no longer play rugby. The SRU have been building up a huge case against themselves."

The about-turn from the SRU, acknowledging Edinburgh's rights to play, came in a tersely-worded statement last night.

Edinburgh today released a statement welcoming the move and saying that would co-operate with the disciplinary hearing.

It read: "We are satisfied the panel which I understood to comprise a couple of sports lawyers will be 100 per cent independent."

Carruthers could not conceal his mood that swung between upbeat and gung-ho, saying: "I hope the panel do not place too much emphasis on previous misdemeanours on the field by myself and one or two fellow directors."

In a final swipe, he added: "Of course, these actions stem from having actually played rugby - unlike some inside Murrayfield, who have been passing judgement in a way that has affected Edinburgh's staff adversely."

This article was posted on 12-Jul-2007, 12:15 by Hugh Barrow.