A missing ambulance caused massive disappointment in the Western Asia Club Rugby Championships where Kandy Sports Club walked away with the win in yesterday’s fixture against the Abu Dhabi Saracens.
Play had to be called off after the absence of the ambulance was discovered. It is an elementary regulation for any rugby event that an ambulance be present at the grounds and it is the responsibility of the host team to provide so.
It was a sizeable gathering at the Abu Dhabi stadium for the start of the game’s proceedings with players and officials making their way to the ground but the green light was not given by the officials to go ahead with the game. After 45 minutes of intense discussion and a series of phone calls to get an ambulance, it was decided to abandon the match.
Speaking to the foreign press, the Asia Rugby Representative on the ground Ghaith Jaleel had the following to share,“In any Asian Rugby or World Rugby event, we need to have an ambulance present before the match kicks off,”
“If there is no ambulance there, we can’t start the game. It may just be 10 minutes away because of an injury, but in case of a catastrophic injury where a player needs immediate attention, we cannot risk that. That is why we decided to call off the game tonight.”
It is a customary for the home club to get the necessary medics stationed at the ground but according to the home club officials, the ambulance had not arrived as planned and this cardinal error caused much disruption all around.
The Saracens player-coach Craig Nutt said his team was frustrated that the match could not go further ahead although they had the medical staff at the ground.
“I understand it was in the specifics of the contract. We have organised it but it hasn’t turned up. Our chairman is away on holiday; we don’t understand why it has not come.”
“We tried everyone we could, but all the hospitals were saying there would be a two-hour wait. There is nothing else we could do.” Craig Nutt further added.
The week long Western Asia Club Rugby Sevens that started last Friday is expected to conclude this weekend with the final encounter, thereby ruling out the possibilities of playing the game on a reserve game. According to the verdict that is yet to come, the possibilities are that the Saracens will be forced to forfeit the points and award the win to their visitors, Kandy Sports Club.
The championship being an internationally acclaimed tournament, such a mistake should not be tolerated since it is been organized under the purview of the Asian Rugby Football Union. It is upto the organizers to look into the matters pertaining to the tournament and it is a severe let down to the championship by the host club. There were many Sri Lankans who had arrived from various parts of the Emirates to Abu Dhabi to witness their team place and they were forced to travel back.
With the Saracens having no option but to award the win to Kandy, Kandy Sports Club have a fine edge in winning the championships if they succeed in their final game against Doha RFC.
