Auckland: A ban on bagpipes at the rugby World Cup in New Zealand has knocked the wind out of the Scotland team.
The unique sound of the Scottish instrument is frequently heard before Edinburgh matches at Murrayfield but it has been missing in New Zealand due to the tournament organisers' decision to ban musical instruments from all venues.
Scotland won their opening two matches in the homely surroundings of Invercargill, which had a large influx of Scottish settlers in the late 19th century, but the team said they had missed the traditional sound of the pipes.
"When you arrive at the ground and are warming up, you quite like to hear the sound of bagpipes," Scotland kicking coach Duncan Hodge told reporters in Wellington yesterday ahead of their Pool B clash with Argentina.
"The guys would rather have bagpipes than not, put it that way. The Argentinians I'd imagine would have all kinds of support, so it would be nice to cancel that out with a few bagpipes."
Scottish newspaper the Daily Record on Monday quoted the Scottish government as saying they had written to organisers asking for the ban to be overturned in time for their final clash against old rivals England on October 1.
