Rugby result changed!
It is rare that the result of a rugby match is changed and the score radically changed. It has just happened in the LV= Cup.
On 3 February, Saracens were to have played the Dragons at Rodney Parade in Newport. The field was frozen, the match postponed and a replay unfeasible.
As a result the Anglo Welsh LV Cup organisers in the week following the match declared Saracens the winners 20-0 and gave the Dragons a fine of £10 000 suspended till after the completion of pool matches in the 2013 LV= Cup. The 20-0 victory meant a bonus point to Saracens.
The Dragons appealed, the appeal was heart and the appeal was upheld. The organisers declared the match a 0-0 draw and reduced the fine to £5 000.
Dragons interim chief executive Chris Brown said: “We are obviously disappointed that the game against Saracens cannot be re-scheduled but we are pleased by the ruling of the Appeals Panel in this matter.”
Before the Saracens match Rodney Parade had been covered from the Monday with double covering in certain areas but the pitch froze in overnight temperatures of -8°C. A Welsh Rugby Union official declared the pitch unplayable. No alternative was possible and no suitable date before the semifinals on 9-11 March could be found. The organising committee then ruled that the Dragons were in breach of regulation 6.7 in that the pitch was unplayable, and no suitable alternative arrangements were in place. It was also decided that Saracens would be awarded the fixture by a 20-0 scoreline.
