There are questions that remain to be answered by the IRFU and Rory Best in the wake of the Belfast rape trial according to Paul Rouse.
The UCD lecturer and sports journalist joined Ger on OTB AM this morning, where he called for clarity as to why the Irish international captain attended the trial of his suspended teammates, who were subsequently acquitted, during the week leading up to Ireland's Six Nations game with France.
"I think there is an outstanding question that remains to be asked [of the IRFU] which is around Rory Best. Did they know that Rory Best was going to attend the trial on the Wednesday before the France game? And what did they think about his attendance of that trial? I think there are two basic questions that the IRFU still must answer".
Best had been directed to appear by the defense council, which does not appear to constitute a legal requirement for his attendance. This has resulted in calls for Best to clarify his decision to go, as many feel that the Irish captain should have to give his reasoning behind his appearance.
Rouse was intrigued to know what head coach Joe Schmidt thought of his captain going to the trial on his day off that week, and noted Schmidt's history of talking about sensitive subjects as a reason for the Irish boss to step forward and shine some light on the situation.
"I would actually be really interested in Joe Schmidt's answer to those questions as well. Joe Schmidt is a man who doesn't shy away from saying stuff, even at difficult times".
"He is a man who has been willing, in the past, to make public statements - it would be really interesting to know whether he knew Rory Best was going to the trial, and what did he think of it."
Rouse also questioned what the reaction would have been if the captain of another sport, such as football, had attended the rape trial of club mates, though criticised the usage of the term 'rugby culture' to describe the actions of the night in question, or Best's attendance at the trial.
"It's a different thing if you are an international rugby player and the captain of an international rugby team. I think it would be very interesting to imagine a scenario where that would be the captain of the Irish soccer team who had gone to such a trial. What would the outcry have been against that person?"
"You can't describe what happened on that night as a rugby culture - it's deeply unfair for anyone to say that it was a rugby culture - for two reasons. There are many rugby people who are appalled by what happened and do not deserve to be associated with it, number one. Number two, to describe it as a rugby culture is to imagine or contend that it could not happen in another sport, which of course is a nonsense".
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