THE HERALD REPORTS

Carruthers on back foot as SRU set to evict club NEIL DRYSDALE August 01 2007
Relations between the Scottish Rugby Union and Edinburgh have plumbed new depths, with the governing body poised to inform the club it will have to find a new venue to host this season's Celtic League and Heineken Cup matches.

Edinburgh previously played their matches at Murrayfield but, because of the escalating row between the two parties and the imminent threat of legal action between the SRU and Edinburgh's co-owner, Bob Carruthers, the union have decided it would be invidious to allow the team to use the national stadium.

Carruthers, who seems increasingly on the back foot in the dispute, admitted yesterday that he was having to consider a variety of different options, with Meggetland, the home of Boroughmuir RFC, the most likely option. The most obvious problem in Edinburgh moving there is that its capacity is less than 5000, which would be insufficient for the club's European fixtures against Toulouse, Leinster and Leicester Tigers.

advertisement"We have a contract with the SRU but they have made it clear they want a fight and, when that happens, as has been seen, there is no predicting how they will behave," said Carruthers, who is coming under growing pressure to prove he has the funds to make Edinburgh a European-class team or sell his stake back to the SRU. "Their attitude is to try to force us out of business."

However, the SRU has roundly denied that allegation and believes the whole sorry conflict could have been avoided if Carruthers had adhered to normal business practice, such as observing confidentiality agreements, while contract negotiations were being discussed.

Although they were unavailable for comment yesterday, The Herald can reveal that

This article was originally posted on 1-Aug-2007, 07:42 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 1-Aug-2007, 07:50.