Rugby chiefs tell S.A. to end tour

Press, 24 April 1986, Page 4

Rugby chiefs tell S.A. to end tour

NZPA staff correspondent London The International Rugby Board has told the South African Rugby Board to end the “rebel” rugby tour of South Africa. The board said yesterday that it disapproved of the tour and had asked the South African board to make the necessary arrangements to bring the tour to an end. The South African board had acknowledged responsibility for the tour and accepted that the normal procedures for inviting players had not been followed, the Rugby Board said. Asked what action the board would take against the South African board if the tour continued, the New Zealand Rugby Union chairman, Mr Ces Blazey, said the question “doesn’t arise at present.” Mr Blazey, the International Board’s chairman, said it would have been “unreasonable and

impracticable” to call off the first match which was played early today. Mr Blazey said the South African Board was not the “inviter” but was acknowledging responsibility for “somebody” ini South Africa who had arranged an unofficial tour. He said the International Board had not considered what New Zealand should do about the “rebel” players if they continued with the tour. The board says a rugby player can accept “material rewards” from book sales or other forms of communication but he must have completed a declaration stating his playing career had “irrevocably ended.” The rules would also apply to coaches and referees. A number of proposals regarding the regulations which govern amateurism had been referred to a special committee for consideration. The committee would report back to a special meeting of

the board in due course, the board said. The board also adopted at its annual meeting several alterations to rugby, rules relating to safety and the prevention of injuries. They include new requirements in the formation and setting up of scrums, in particular in) regard to each front row; the referee to stop play immediately if a scrum collapses; and if a player goes to ground in a maul and the ball is available immediately, play can continue.