The International Rugby Board will not hesitate to ban David Hilton from appearing for Scotland - unless he can come up with a plausible explanation for his massive mistake. Hilton has been left to sweat on an IRB decision into his eligibility after Scotland coach Ian McGeechan left a place open for him in the squad to face England in the final Six Nations Championship match of the season at Murrayfield on April 2.
The move came just 24 hours after the Scottish Rugby Union informed the IRB that Hilton's grandfather, who the player believed originated from Edinburgh, was actually born in Bristol. The SRU have appealed that because Hilton became a Scotland international before the game went professional in 1995 he should be allowed to continue his Scotland career, even though he does not meet the current eligibility laws.
However, IRB chief executive Stephen Baines offered Hilton little cause for optimism when he explained how the decision on his future will be taken. "Selection to play for your country is the highest honour you can achieve in any sport," he said.
"If players are being selected to play for their country on the basis that they qualify and are eligible to do so, it is obviously quite a serious breach if it is then found that they were not eligible. That is particularly the case in a professional era where players are paid large sums of money to represent their country and are put on professional contracts by their national unions."
"It is perhaps more important in the professional era than it was in the amateur one, and we will take it very seriously. It is clear from the correspondence we received from the SRU that David Hilton does not meet the eligibility regulations of the IRB. It is my view that if he doesn't meet the eligibility regulations then he is not able to play for Scotland."
The IRB will decide Hilton's fate at their annual meeting in Dublin next week when they will also debate the controversy surrounding Welsh duo Shane Howarth and Brett Sinkinson, who it is also alleged played international rugby without any appropriate qualifications.
While initially suggesting the matter may take some weeks to resolve, Baines acknowledged the SRU were waiting for an answer before deciding whether to draft Hilton into the squad to face England. If the decision goes against the former Bath Heineken Cup winner then McGeechan will be forced to bring in a replacement. However Baines insisted the issue will be dealt with properly and Scotland will be notified of the outcome as soon as it is available.
"It is a matter which will be dealt with by our disciplinary committee when it is set up next week," said Baines. "The Board has got quite wide-sweeping powers in terms of what action it takes against unions, but I doubt it would go back and look at previous results. There have been proposals (from Australia) to consider whether the grandparent clause and other aspects of our regulations should be amended, and they will also be discussed next week."
"The IRB will be reviewing the reports that the Welsh and Scottish Unions have submitted and will take all the facts into account before making their decision. We would hope to set a disciplinary panel quite quickly and when we can get back to the SRU we will do so."
The latest news came after the SRU called on an amnesty for international players who have turned out for countries without being eligible. After Hilton proclaimed his innocence following weekend newspaper reports that he had not provided any documentation proving his was qualified to play for Scotland, he was staggered to learn that his grandfather, supposedly born in Edinburgh, was in fact from Bristol.
Scotland squad versus England:
Backs: A Bulloch (Glasgow Caledonians), D Hodge (Edinburgh Reivers), J Leslie (Newcastle, captain), J McLaren (Bourgoin), G Metcalfe (Glasgow Caledonians), C Moir (Northampton), A Nicol (Glasgow Caledonians), C Paterson (Edinburgh Reivers), B Redpath (Narbonne), G Townsend (Brive).
Forwards: S Brotherstone (Brive), G Bulloch (Glasgow Caledonian), S Grimes (Newcastle Falcons), M Leslie (Edinburgh Reivers), R Metcalfe (Northampton), S Murray (Saracens), B Pountney (Northampton), S Reid (Narbonne), T Smith (Brive), M Stewart (Northampton), J White (Glasgow Caledonians).
