Rugby Union Players' Association CEO Ross Xenos "welcomed the idea of an earlier meeting between the Australian Rugby Union and stakeholders to get further clarity on the ongoing Super Rugby saga and hinted that an emergency general meeting was not necessarily called to try and remove ARU CEO Bill Pulver and the rest of the board." The ARU spent Thursday "trying to organise two potential dates" for a preliminary meeting between itself and key stakeholders. Xenos said, "Any meeting between the ARU and the stakeholders that are involved is a positive thing but it does not alleviate our motivation to move forward with a general meeting" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 5/18).
The Int'l Centre for Sport Security "announced the creation of a dedicated Special Investigations Unit." Led by ICSS Group CEO Michael Hershman, the unit "will offer investigation services, specialised training and independent integrity advice." This will "help support governing bodies, law enforcement and athletes while investigations into alleged misconduct and integrity violations are ongoing" (INSIDE THE GAMES, 5/17).
Britain's National Crime Agency "provided the initial intelligence that helped uncover a major spot-fixing scandal in the Pakistan Super League," an official from the Int'l Cricket Council said on Thursday. ICC Anti-Corruption Unit Head Ronnie Flanagan said, "The inquiry was absolutely led by the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) throughout and our role was simply that before the PSL match we received intelligence that was passed to us by the British National Crime Agency" (AFP, 5/18).
A study found a "specific 20-minute exercise programme can reduce injuries in teenage rugby players by more than 70%." Experts from the University of Bath said that "they are excited by the dramatic findings," which are to set to be implemented across all levels of the community game by the Rugby Football Union before next season. According to the study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers found "overall injuries fell by 72% when players completed the newly devised exercise session at least three times a week, either just before a match or before training" (London GUARDIAN, 5/17).
