From Antigua Observer

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – The Trinidad and Tobago Rugby Football Union (TTRFU) has turned to the sport’s governing body, World Rugby, in an attempt to have their disqualification from this year’s Rugby Americas North (RAN) Championships overturned.

After defeating Bermuda 27-24 and USA South 34-33 in their first two games, T&T was unable to secure funding in time for their match against the Cayman Islands on June 23.

The TTRFU eventually received funding for the trip and attempted to have RAN reschedule the match to facilitate the team, but the regional governing body decided to cancel the fixture and throw T&T out the competition.

Back in June, RAN’s media officer Laura Gill via email had said that, “On the basis that if Cayman could re-schedule the match, an extension of time had been given to the TTRFU to confirm they had funding in place and a proposed new date; both which they were unable to do in a timely manner. At this point, Cayman confirmed that they were unable to re-schedule the match and the match was officially cancelled by RAN.”

“Due to the cancellation by TT Rugby Football Union of the June 23 RAN 15 a-side international match between the Cayman Islands and TT and the inability for the match to be re-scheduled, under Section 5.5 of the tournament manual, which all teams signed up and agreed to, the TTRFU are deemed to have wilfully cancelled the match and as a consequence have been expelled from the 2018 competition,” the email further added.

However, lawyer Christophe Brathwaite confirmed to the Trinidad Newsday that the TTRFU took the matter further by appealing to World Rugby.

“We went before an appeal committee which was actually created by RAN themselves and the decisions from their appeal committee was not conducive to the TTRFU. So we’re taking it to a further appeal process which is in the constitution of world rugby,” Brathwaite said

“And we’re taking it directly to an appeal process while we’re requesting an appeal for a judicial committee to be formed from World Rugby.”

He said the TTRFU is now awaiting World Rugby to respond to the request.

IMAGE: highlandersrugby.com

For more on this story go to: https://antiguaobserver.com/tt-turns-to-governing-body-in-bid-to-have-disqualification-overturned/