A successful compensation claim made yesterday against the Welsh Rugby Union by a player paralysed in an amateur match could have a huge impact on non-professional sport in Ireland as well as the UK.
Mr Richard Vowles (29) successfully brought a London High Court damages action against the match referee, Mr David Evans, for whom the union accepted vicarious liability.
Mr Justice Morland said Mr Evans was in breach of his duty to take reasonable care for the safety of the front row forwards in failing to order non-contested scrums where the front rows do not lock.
The judge found that Mr Vowles, who now uses a wheelchair, had established on the balance of probabilities that this breach of duty was a material cause of his accident.
It is the first time that an amateur referee in any sport has been held liable in the context of an adult amateur game, and the judge recommended that the unions governing the British game should insure themselves and their referees against further claims.
The outcome of the case could have serious implications for amateur rugby in Ireland, which shares a similar legal system to the UK, lawyers said last night.
Mr Eoin MacNeill, from the Sports Law Unit at A & L Goodbody Solicitors, said the case was potentially significant as it was unusual for a sports governing body to be held liable for a player's injuries.
"It looks like a potentially significant development, and governing bodies are going to have to look at the judgment," he said. "If a case like this came before an Irish court, today's case would be cited as an authority for one view or another."
Mr Donal Spring, a former Irish international who is currently the solicitor for the Irish Rugby Union Players' Association, said he expected that amateur referees would now have to be insured against negligence.
"All referees will seek indeminities from unions, and the unions will be a lot more strict about the people they allow to referee," he said.
Mr Vowles, a hooker with Llanharan second XV, sustained his injury after his team's loosehead prop had to leave the field. The prop was replaced by a back-row forward and, in injury time, Mr Vowles suffered a severe injury when the two packs failed to engage properly.
The WRU said Llanharan had declined the referee's invitation to continue the game with non-contested scrums. The judge found that Mr Evans and the WRU were negligent, but not Llanharan club.
The Welsh rugby union in a statement yesterday said it was "concerned about the judgment and the implications of the decision for the game of rugby union."