Rugby: Scotland players embroiled in fee dispute

Scotland's World Cup preparation has suffered a major setback after the Edinburgh club pulled 12 of its players from Scotland's World Cup training squad due to a dispute over appearance fees with the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU), AFP reported.

Leading players such as Chris Paterson, Mike Blair, Allister Hogg and Scott Murray have spent the week training with Edinburgh instead of with the national squad, following a dispute over the distribution of Magners League and European Cup appearance fees.

A crisis meeting was held on Thursday (NZ time) in an effort to resolve the situation but no agreement was reached.

The relationship between Edinburgh and the SRU has been strained after a consortium fronted by the brothers Alex and Bob Carruthers franchised the club.

- NZ HERALD STAFF