Pipe ban strikes false note with Scots

As Scotland prepared to name their team Thursday for their next World Cup match against Argentina on Sunday, team officials say it's upsetting that they'll have to play the Pumas without hearing bagpipes in the crowd.

Kicking coach Duncan Hodge says Scotland players are "gutted" that bagpipes are banned from World Cup matches, depriving them of a traditional source of motivation for the crucial Pool B match at Wellington Regional Stadium.

World Cup organizers have refused to allow fans to carry musical instruments into stadiums. That catch-all prohibition has been deemed to include bagpipes, which have stirred Scottish hearts for centuries.

Matt Strachan wrote to New Zealand's prime minister when Strachan was told the bagpipes he had carried from Scotland to New Zealand for the World Cup could not be played at his team's games.

The Scotland government has supported Strachan's call for a relaxation of the ban and the lone piper's Facebook page has drawn thousands of supporters.

"I've played the pipes in most of the UK stadiums and also in France during the last World Cup and they have always been gratefully received," Strachan said. "Why then after many sporting years have the World Cup organizers decided against having them in stadiums?"

Hodge said Scottish players were disappointed they may not hear the skirl of the pipes as the face Argentina on Sunday.

The winner of the match may join England in advancing from Pool B to the tournament's quarterfinals.

"I think the Scots would be a bit gutted if they were (banned)," Hodge said. "The guys would rather have bagpipes than not, put it that way.

"When you arrive at the ground and are warming up, you quite like to hear the sound of bagpipes. The Argentineans I'd imagine would have all kinds of support, so it would be nice to cancel that out with a few bagpipes."

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