NSW Waratahs had to take an open captain’s run behind closed doors after mining activists threatened to cancel the sessions at Narrabri’s Dangar Park.
Rob Penney ‘s team are in the north town of NSW for a three – day Rugby Festival, where a test match against the Queensland Reds will be at the heart of Friday night.
But the Waratahs ’final training will run before their only test match ahead of the Super Rugby AU season, which starts in a fortnight, catching a snag when the team came on the sessions to close on Thursday.
The mining company Santos, which is now backing the Waratahs has already backed the Reds, maintaining a heavy presence in the city as they continue to study of coal seal gas rents amid deep divisions about its potential impact on the environment.
The Waratahs first revealed the situation via Instagram, apologizing to fans who were planning to watch the team go through their final preparations.
“As a result of threats of vandalism from the protests to Dangar Park Rugby Field, we had to close public access to the captain’s run at 9.30am and 6pm today … we share your disappointment and harassment, but reassures you that other ticketed events will not remain unchanged at this time. “
A spokesman from Waratahs then clarified the situation to ESPN, confirming that a potentially dangerous complaint has not been filed at this stage.
“There had been no protesters at the moment, but there had been a threat, and at that time they just thought it would be safer to close training,” the spokesman said.
“At this point it seems to be okay. It may not have been to the end, but they didn’t want to run the risk.”
Santos has largely hosted a Rugby Festival despite some locals protesting against the company ‘s presence in the north – west farming area. Santos also sponsors Narrabri Blue Boars Rugby Club, which is hosting the event.
David Pocock, a former Wallabies back rower, was famously involved in a mining dispute at Maules Creek, just east of Narrabri, in 2014, when he tied himself to machinery. Pocock was arrested and charged with offenses involving entering enclosed land without legal excuse.
Pocock received a formal written warning from the Australian Rugby Union at the time, the whole event but ending any hope he had of being captain of the Wallabies full-time in the future.
“I know some are very uncomfortable breaking the law, but I feel that direct non-existent action against coal mines and climate change draws on a long history of discontent. civil to be used to clarify injustice. #Lardblockade, “Pocock tweeted at the time.
Pocock has long spoken out against climate change and the impact of the mining industry on the environment, reaffirming its position in a recent podcast.
“Our futures are on and if we don’t raise our aspirations and start tackling this as the crisis that scientists are telling us to be, we have cook, “he told the BBC ‘s emergency podcast on Planet Sport.
“I think there’s a kind of moral obligation for everyone to play the role.”