Following our exclusive story regarding the possibility of Samoa players boycotting the Test match against England next week, the International Rugby Board has released the following statement.
It read: “On October 27, the IRB was made aware of concerns raised by the Samoa senior men’s national squad regarding the administration of the Samoa Rugby Union. This included an indication that the players would withdraw from the match against England on November 22 if their concerns were not heard.
“Subsequently, the IRB engaged in dialogue with the Samoa Rugby Union and the International Rugby Players’ Association to facilitate urgent and collaborative resolution.
“With all parties, including the players, committed to ongoing dialogue, just under two weeks ago the players withdrew their proposed action to withdraw from the England match and the IRB fully expects the Union to undertake its obligation to honour its November Test programme commitment in full.”