Ross slams Just Stop Oil for disruption

SALE captain Jono Ross hit out at the Just Stop Oil protesters who disrupted yesterday’s Premiership final at Twickenham.

Two pitch invaders let off orange powder 21 minutes into the game and were manhandled off the playing surface by stewards, with some help from Tom Curry.

The showpiece was the latest sporting event to be marred by protests after the World Snooker Championship and Grand National.

South African Ross, in his last game for Sale, was fuming at the interruption along with his director of rugby Alex Sanderson.

Ross said: ‘I don’t agree with what they do. I don’t agree with that at all. It is completely against everything I believe in and to come to sporting events and ruin sporting events week in, week out I don’t agree with that.’

The match was poised at 6-6 at the time but shortly after Saracens scored to make it 13-6. Sanderson said: ‘I don’t understand why it happened. What can you do, I can’t run on and throttle them myself. It created a break in the game they scored from. I am not saying that is the game but it shows the intensity of concentration that you need to switch off and switch on. It was certainly unexpected.

One of the protesters was Dr Patrick Hart, 37, a GP from Bristol, who said: ‘I’m doing this because it’s my duty as a doctor.’