IRB admit to no Samoan solution
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The IRB has come forward and admitted that although the Twickenham crisis has been averted, there is no long term solution in play for Samoa's issues with its administration.
IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset, speaking at the World Rugby ConfEx in London, said that while the short term issue of getting the go-ahead for the game had been dealt with, the underlying grievances of Samoa's players had still to be resolved.
"The first priority was to get the game in place at Twickenham and that has been achieved," Lapasset said.
"We are in discussion with the Samoans – I have had a personal letter from the president of the Samoa Rugby Union which I have responded to and we have opened discussions with the players themselves."
The Frenchman added: "There is no solution at the moment. It was just important we confirm what the Samoan players did today [Monday] – they will play against England."
Samoa's players had warned they were contemplating pulling out of Saturday's clash at Twickenham as a protest against their treatment by the Samoa Rugby Union.
IRB chief executive Brett Gosper, also attending the conference, said talks involving the SRU, the players, the International Rugby Players' Association and the IRB meant "there is no threat to the game whatsoever at Twickenham".
With the 2015 World Cup in England now just 10 months' away, Lapasset said the IRB had to maintain dialogue with countries such as Samoa.
"It is important they know what we are doing for the format of the competition and for the rights of the professional player," Lapasset explained.
"It is important we discuss these things more formally with the unions so we can confirm participation in the competitions we have in the future."
Meanwhile Gosper, asked if the IRB needed to look more closely at the way in which the funds it gave to Samoa were being used, replied that were "very stringent criteria" already in place but refused to rule out further investigations.
Last week, the Samoa players' unhappiness became public knowledge when, following a report in Britain's Rugby Paper, the IRB released a statement saying they had been made aware of the Pacific Islanders' concerns in October.
Monday's Samoa Observer said in an editorial that the grievances included an alleged lack of financial transparency within the SRU with players being expected to pay air fares, coaches being denied a free-rein on selection and team line-ups being announced on social media before players had been notified.
Samoa, the top performing Pacific island nation and twice World Cup quarter-finalists, have in recent years recorded wins against top-tier countries such as Australia, Wales and Scotland.
Members of the Samoa team who beat Canada 23-13 in Vannes, north-west France, last Saturday met with the IRB and the IRPA over the weekend but the SRU chose not to be represented at the talks.
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