The Scottish Rugby Union are continuing their investigation into an allegation that the Boroughmuir player Lynton Brinck racially abused an opponent from Glasgow Hawks, in spite of the Edinburgh club’s claim that he has no case to answer.

Having previously refused to say anything on the matter, Boroughmuir officials finally issued a statement making that claim on Tuesday evening, 10 days after the match when there was a flare-up after the final whistle.

Glasgow Hawks officials have said they do not want to pursue the matter further in deference to the wishes of George Oommen, the player who was said to have been the target of the abuse and whose consequent reaction sparked something of a mass brawl.

However, an SRU official said yesterday that with the matter having been raised publicly – initially in The Herald last week – the organisation is obliged to make a full investigation for the good of the sport.

It is very much in keeping with the situation which led to Shane Jennings, the Leinster flanker, being banned for 12 weeks for gouging Nick Kennedy, of London Irish, in a Heineken Cup tie.

There are clear parallels in that the matter was initially brought to public attention when, in a match being tele­vised live, Kennedy remonstrated with officials, indicating that there had been contact with one of his eyes.

He subsequently admitted to having over-reacted, but Richard McGhee, the citing officer from Scotland who was on duty at that match, had by then reviewed the incident and felt there was indeed a case to answer, which led to Jennings’ conviction and punishment.

Clearly there is a point at which matters go beyond a private exchange and become matters for both rugby and civic authorities to address.

In this instance, it now seems that, either the brawl was provoked by racial abuse or those who raised the complaint, by bringing it to the attention of the media, have damaged the reputation of the sport by hiding behind a false accusation to justify the Hawks players’ involvement in the post-match brawl.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that Max Evans, a member of the Glasgow Warriors playing staff and therefore an SRU employee, played for Hawks in the match. It has been alleged that the international centre was among those who became involved in the brawl.

Kenny Baillie, Hawks’ chief executive, is also soon to join the Warriors as their CEO.