Scotland fans criticised after England team member hit by bottle

Eddie Jones has criticised Scotland fans after a member of England’s back-room team was struck in the head by a plastic beer bottle as the group made their way into the ground for their Six Nations clash with Scotland, although social media footage suggests it was blown rather than thrown.

High performance chief Neil Craig was hit by the object as the England players and support staff disembarked from the team bus at Murrayfield.

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“We weren’t expecting beer bottles to be thrown, that’s a new trick,” Jones said post-match. “It’s a pretty good achievement, throwing beer bottles, you’ve got to be brave to throw a beer bottle.

“Neil has a hard head, I know that and there’s not much inside it. He will be alright.”

However, footage later emerged on social media that appeared to disprove the allegation that the plastic bottle had been thrown. In the video below, it looks like it was blown off a gantry at Murrayfield – hardly surprising given the strong winds brought in with Storm Ciara.

The Scottish Rugby Union apologised to the England group before the match kicked off but also stressed that there was no evidence the bottle had been thrown.

An SRU spokesman said: “The matter was raised with the England team manager pre-match by a member of Scottish Rugby staff and an apology extended. There is no evidence the bottle was thrown or intended to hit any individual.”

The Six Nations have launched an investigation into the incident to try to determine how the plastic bottle came to hit Craig.

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