Seasonal Strain Seen In Press Boxes

PERHAPS it was the unseasonal weather, maybe mental tiredness and a need for the Festive break, but, the minds in the Press Box at Bridgehaugh, during Stirling County v Gala, were not operating with their normal laser-like precision.

 

It was definitely not the usual rule - that the flights of fancy aired inside that hallowed chamber are normally in inverse proportion to the drawing power of the game.

 

During a good game, there is near silence, the only chat to confirm personnel involved in a move. A poor game sees non-stop chatter and some irrelevant flights of fancy, as we poor scribes strive to stay awake.

 

No, although it was a bit of an arm wrestle, the effort, from both sides, kept one's eyes on the action, but, during breaks, we did have time for whimsy.

 

One scribe drew our attention to the freshly-painted University boat house on the banks of the nearby Forth. This offered another the vision of a fiercely-contested coxless fours race - Raploch Leander v Coalsnoughton Corinthians.

 

A spell of Gala pressure, to no avail, was described as: "Like watching the Eton Wall Game, back and forth along a narrow strip of land, with a score about every 50 years".

 

Another of our number was moved to liken County's defensive strategy at the breakdown as: "Watching a gang of Raploch urchins at a wedding scramble". This, by the way, was a tribute to the defensive excellence of the home side - which helped them carry the day.

 

For Gala, I can honestly say, I have seen them play worse and win. To so dominate a game and lose it was difficult enough for George Graham to take, but, at County, where his career began, of all places.

 

The same sort of whimsy seemed to capture Glasgow Hawks' excellent PR man, Alex Gordon, at Philiphaugh. The opening few paragraphs of his match report on Hawks' victory over Selkirk is surely worthy of a place in "Pseud's Corner" in Private Eye.

 

Any way, the Souters are relegated, which is sad. They have at times lit-up the BT Premiership this season and their failure to consolidate appears to confirm the decrease in numbers in the Borders, which can no longer, apparently, sustain four top-flight club sides.

 

I like Selkirk, I feel their pain.

 

 

 

BACK-TO-BACK wins over Scarlets have helped Glasgow's recovery in Europe. I reckon, they can go to Franklin's Gardens and take care of misfiring Northampton to undo the damage their terrible opening game, at home to the Midlands side, undoubtedly did to their European campaign.

 

Warriors are capable, on a very good day, of beating Racing 92 at home, but, that Paris trip in January - well, Scottish sides do not have a good record in that city in that month. But, Europe is not over yet.

 

 

 

 

Rugby Players Are Smarter

A gentleman's dining club of which I am a member, last night had as our guest speaker, a current Scottish rugby internationalist. We are not a Masonic group, but, under club rules, I cannot divulge his name, but can reveal, he is a Glasgow Warrior. He is the second Warrior I have heard speak after a meal, both were equally impressive.

 

Our guest spoke for 45 minutes or so, without notes, on is career to date; before spending a further 20 minutes taking questions. When I left, he was still speaking to members, not all of whom are rugby fans.

 

One of our number, a retired former footballer and club manager was candid as we discussed the night: "I cannot think of more than a handful of footballers, of the hundreds with whom I have worked as a manager and coach, who could have pulled that off", he said.

 

"The boy was very impressive, he will go far".

 

Our hero's performance, and the impact he had on a mainly football-orientated audience demonstrates how professional rugby is getting it right, where, for so long and so often, professional football has got it wrong, when it comes to how they treat the players.

 

Football clubs want their players, young and old, to play football. There is little or no interest in anything beyond the 90 minutes in a game. Rugby clubs, such as Glasgow and Edinburgh, encourage their players to be more-rounded individuals, to prepare for the day when they have to get a real job and are seeking to build-up their players.

 

Football clubs, by and large do not give a damn about anything other than the game. We are in the better game - after all, the sainted David Beckham hinted at just this earlier this week.

 

 

 

WHAT great news it is that Gregor Townsend will be staying with Glasgow until at least the summer of 2017. MInd you, by then, he may well be an even-bigger draw to the mega-bucks English and French clubs. But, we should enjoy having him at home.

 

 

 

 

Independence Might Help Us Keep Our Top Talent At Home

I VOTED Yes in last year's Independence Referendum. This act, however, won me no friends at the rugby clubs wherein I conduct my Saturday match-reporting shifts.

 

If Scotland is a conservative country, then Scottish Rugby is a Conservatice constituency. Given the predominance of rugby followers who were schooled privately, or in Scottish senior secondary schools back towards the end of the era when the old Tory-supporting Scottish Unionist Party was the power in the land, or who have grown up during the long years of Scotland being a Labour fiefdom, it is hardly surprising that SNP supporters are merely a growing minority on the touchlines of Scotland.

 

But, it just might be that eventual Independence will be the salvation of Scottish Rugby - if recent events in Wales are any guide.

 

Now, I accept that, if "The High Road South" is the most-pleasing aspect for a young Scot with ambition, so a similar claim might be made of the Severn Bridge with regard to ambitious Welshmen. I sometimes regard Welshmen as wannabee Englishmen what speak funny, but, there is a long tradition of thrusting young Welsh rugby players gravitating towards Old Deer Park, home of London Welsh, and a cap.

 

Indeed, the wonderful series-winning Lions of 1971, for all the genius and brilliance of "The King", Barry John, and Gareth Edwards at half-back and Mike Gibson in the centre, and for all the forward graft from the likes of Ian McLauchlan, Big Broon frae Troon and Willie-John McBride, well, that party was almost London Welsh On Tour, with so-many players from that club joining Lions' skipper John Dawes in the Antipodes.

 

Much closer to today, in some ways, the decision to go to four Welsh regions was, in part at least, driven by a desire in the Valleys, to stem the flow of young talent across the Severn and along the M4. But still as Newport Gwent Dragons discovered this week with Taulupe Faletau's agent announcing the Wales and Lions number eight was joining Bath, the big-money lure of the Aviva Premiership is hard to resist.

 

Warren Gatland's plans for next season are now seriously compromised, since he cannot select all the Welsh superstars now playing outwith the Principality, and the WRU's idea of central contracts has proved incapable of keeping an out-of-contract player, who knows he can earn more in exile, inside the Welsh tent.

 

Of course, we Scots have lang syne learned to live with our top talent being exiles, I suppose the Welsh will, somehow, cope.

 

The Irish, however, despite that nation's Celtic propensity for travel - is there a major city anywhere in the world which doesn't have its Irish bar? - have by and large managed to keep their best players on the island.

 

Why is this? The Republic is some way from being the Celtic Tiger of legend these days, but, by and large the top Irish talent stays at home - only venturing abroad for the purposes of pension-fund topping-up.

 

Might this have something to do with the Irish government's enlightened attitude to the taxation affairs of sporting talent? In truth, we don't here too-much about how little tax top Irish sportsmen pay, but, the belief is, they get a good deal.

 

And here, at last, we arrive at the kernel of this post. Might it not be that, when Scotland is finally independent, and this writer, closer to 70 than 60, hopes to be around to celebrate FREEDOM DAY!!! one of the first acts of the newly-independent Scottish government, is to make certain our top sportsmen, including our rugby players, can remain at home, remain competitive and retain a generous proportion of their income.

 

I hope those Edinburgh players who are going out of contract at the end of this season can be retained, just as I hope, the likes of Messers Hogg, Bennett, Horne, Dunbar, Russell and Gray can play-out their careers with Glasgow.

 

We need to keep as many good Scots as possible at home, if we are to have a secure future.

The Kids Appear To Be Alright - At Last

THE newly-introduced Conferences at schools and youth rugby level in Scotland appear to be working. Certainly, rugby writers such as my old friend Alan Lorimer are managing to get some articles on them into the Herald and The Scotsman - the two "heavy" Scottish newspapers, whose rugby coverage has been going south at a fair old lick since out and out football writers began to be promoted to executive level.

However, it will take a wheen o years before true democracy, or more-correctly meritocracy breaks out in Scottish rugby. The top clubs still dominate the top club conferences, while the same coterie of "public schools" still dominate the top schools conference.

I honestly don't know if it will be possible for schools, particularly state schools which really push rugby, to eventually break into the top conference, but, I hope the mechanism for this is put into place.

It is the same in the club conferences, where I note, in the lowest "Brown Conference", Cumnock, the lowest-ranked club, are right in the mix to win the thing. More power to their elbow.

The thing is, while the conferences will be won on a whole-club basis - every team at every level contributes - still, the newspaper focus is on the likes of the Under-18 results. I appreciate, the Under-18s are, indeed, the "big boys", but, by emphasising these results and perhaps ignoring results at a younger age groups, a false picture of strengths and weaknesses might arise.

It is all very well having a good Under-18 team, battling at the top of that age group's league. However, if there are age groups being missed-out lower down, or poorer results in the younger age groups, then that club, on the surface doing well, is headed for a fall.

I always treat over-emphasis on a single age group in any club with caution. Age group competition is all about building for a secure future for your club. It is a difficult balancing act to pull-off, but, you have to keep one eye on the future, or you are doomed.

A piece of history might explain what happens when a club gets it wrong. Some years back, Wigtownshire RFC suddenly found itself with a pack of forwards as good as any. Mind you that pack had about three surnames - there was Scotland B cap Hugh Parker, perhaps the unluckiest forward never to win  a full cap - his younger brother John and a whole coterie of Drysdales, brothers and cousins.

This forward power blasted 'Shire up through the leagues, but, there was no future planning, nothing underneath and as that team, which included the SRU's Stevie Gemmell, broke-up, 'Shire's fortunes plummeted. Today, they play in West Division Three, which is about as low as a club can go.

Portobello FP can tell a similar story. The school produced one good XV, who stuck together, got the club up through the leagues, but, as with that great Wigtownshire team mentioned above, once marriage, job responsibilities and retirements kicked in, "Porty" sank, today to East Division Two.

My own Cumnock club, early-on in its life, had a cracking team, based on a fearsome pack, which reached the semi-final of the Glasgow Knock-Out Cup, where they gave a West side including internationalists Gordon Brown, Jimmy Currie and Lionel Weston, plus Ian Murchie - who should have been capped - a real fright, before Ardrossan Academical Murchie decreed: "I cannot lose to these Cumnock bar stewards": Ayrshrie rivalries run deep, and West won it at the death.

That Cumnock team was poised to rise through the ranks, but, within a year between accidental death, retirement, injuries and re-location, only two of the XV were still with the club. Today, nearly 50-years later, Cumnock is still not back to the standard whey were at then.

However, a youth development policy - which has already produced Mark Bennett - is now beginning to bear fruit and Cumnock's future appears bright.

IT IS the unspoken fear of everyone in Scottish Rugby - that Gregor Townsend might be enticed away from Glasgow, to the richer lands of the Aviva Premiership or the French Top 14.

Clearly, after his exploits over the last two seasons, "Toony" is a hot ticket; and we can only hope the SRU makes him an offer which will keep him at Scotstoun, at least until, as he surely must, he succeeds Vern Cotter as Scotland Coach.

 

A Semi Is Not A Happy Thing To Anyone

BURIED in Thursday's online Herald, I noticed a wee story, run without a by-line, which indicates the journalist who had written it, concerning the on-off formation of a semi-professional league, hopefully to bridge the gap between the club game and the two pro clubs.

Apparently, the Premiership Clubs Forum - the body which supposedly looks after the interests of Ayr, Melrose, Heriot's, Hawick, Currie etc, the clubs currently forming the BT Premiership - has discussed the formation of this league, and if things go well, we might see it up and running for the start of 2017-18.

Now this kite has been flown before, and I am not holding my breath in the hope of seeing it soaring any time soon. The reason, the same as what is holding-back Scottish football - blatant self-interest.

As I understand it, the proposal is for an eight-club top-flight, sitting beneath the Pro12. OK, first problem: which eight clubs?

Today, 20-years into professional rugby, we still have not got it right here in Scotland. Certainly, in the past couple of years, things have looked up for both Glasgow and Edinburgh, but, the set-up for these two clubs is still not as good as it might be.

Let's get the two pro teams properly fettled, then, since we now have enough players of the required standard, get at least a third, or better still a third and fourth club, up and running.

At club level, as Allan Massie outlined only too-well in his usual Saturday essay in The Scotsman, we are still reliant to a high degree, on the volunteer officials who do the necessary and unglamorous jobs which have to be done.

It is one thing asking a team manager, or kit man or so forth to come-in two nights per week to lay-out the kit and equipment for training, then to come-in again for matches on Saturday, for little or no reward. It is a whole different ball game if they have to come in four or five days a week, plus Saturday match days.

Ditto the physios, the club administrators, the part-time coaches etc. If you go even semi-professional, these guys and girls will have to be better paid.

Let's have a look at a good example, the town of Ayr. Right now, Ayr Rugby Club tops the BT Premiership, Ayr United are second-top of the SPFL League One. Both squads are made-up of part-time players, but, there the similarities end.

Somerset Park, United's home, is frequently held-up as the best example in Scotland of "an old-fashioned football ground", but, it is still in better condition than Millbrae, the rugby club's ground. It is also open all week, where Millbrae is not, so, United has higher off-field staff costs.

It is understood, in Scottish rugby circles, that Ayr's expenses deal with their players is one of the most-generous in the amateur side of the sport. But, if that club, which is incidentally the only one in Scotland which comes anywhere near the suggested minimum standard which will be asked, had to start being even semi-professionally run, their costs would escalate out of sight.

There have been rumours of Murrayfield making £100,000 grants to each of the proposed eight semi-professional clubs. Well, with the increased off-field staff costs, that would not go too-far, and, what might club sponsors think of the SRU chipping-in with that sort of money? I could well see one or two saying: "Aye well, if they're funding you, you don't need as much from us".

In a semi-pro set-up, can we allow some of the schools to control access to the pitch, and to take a percentage of the bar takings, as I understand happens in some places?

What about the cost of infrastructure upgrades - better spectator facilities, better pitches, better floodlights? Will Murrayfield meet these costs?

To introduce a semi-professional level, below the Pro12 sides, is, in theory, a good thing. However, it really requires an awful lot more thought, over a longer period, before it is introduced.

Professional rugby was introduced hurriedly in 1995. Today, the SRU still has not got it right. Provided they do not take another 20-years to do it, we should maybe give them a wee bit longer, to identify and strengthen the weaknesses in the game up here, before they start looking at the semi-professional game.

An Upturn In Glasgow's Season Will Not Be An Easy Fix

KENNY Murray was rolled out yesterday to issue a: "Ca' canny lads" message to those Glasgow Warriors' fans, and there are quite a few out there, who have become increasingly concerned at the team's up and down form this season.

 

Like Kenny, I am certain Glasgow will come good soon, there is simply too-much talent in the squad for them to go on simply scraping home to ugly wins for much longer.

 

As I have said before, the team has a new scrum coach, who has barely had any time with his probably first-choice pack. Mike Blair and Finn Russell are still building-up the all-important understanding between the half-backs, which is such a key factor in good team performances, Mark Bennett and Stuart Hogg, like Russell, are on a bit of a downer post-World Cup, while Alex Dunbar is still coming back from serious injury.

 

Add a horrendous injury situation at hooker, plus the absence of Henry Pyrgos and the need to adapt to the absence of the iconic Niko, and it is no surprise that Glasgow doesn't look like Glasgow.

 

Murray mentioned the team's horrendously high penalty count against themselves. I recall, when he was coaching at Ayr, the Millbrae Men had the worst negative penalty count in the BT Premiership, Murray put that down to over-eagerness to compete at the breakdown. I sense the same problem afflicting Glasgow this season.

 

A look at Warriors' fixture list for December and January is a somewhat sobering prospect. Saturday's clash with Leinster in the Pro12 is followed by a European Cup double header against Scarlets,  leading to the 1872 Cup double header against Edinburgh over the holiday period.

 

Then, in January, they face European ties against Racing Metro, with the return game against Northampton Saints sandwiched in between, followed by a visit to "Ospreylia". In short, there are no easy games on the horizon - the team really has to click this month - but, these are the pressures in top-flight, professional sport. There is simply no hiding place for under-performing players or teams.

 

 

 

JIM "Basher" Inglis will be laid to rest in the soil of his beloved Selkirk tomorrow. I hope Selkirk Parish Church is packed for his funeral, such a bastion of Borders rugby deserves no less.

 

There remains a veneer of arrogance around some Borders clubs, even though their power has been broken by the switch to professionalism at the topmost level of the club game. But, as one Ayr stalwart said to me, at Millbrae on Saturay: "Selkirk is the least-arrogant of the Borders clubs, the nicest guys to visit and none was nicer than 'Basher'".

 

A formidable prop, he was unlucky to only get one cap, at a time when the Scottish selectors, in the midst of that 17-game losing run, were in full panic mode. But, he was one-third of a fearsome, and feared Souters front-row, and a pillar of the South teams, at a time when, with the likes of Tom Elliot and the great Hughie McLeod, there was no lack of choice in that particular neck of the woods.

 

Then, he became a long-serving and popular club official. That he and his formidable wife Mary, who also gave freely of her time to serve Selkirk should be awarded the Spirit of Rugby award at the SRU Club Awards in May was wholly fitting.

 

"Basher" will be missed terribly around Philiphaugh.

 

 

 

I HAVE felt for some time, the SRU is seriously under-valuing the BT Premiership. There are an awful lot of good players in that league, indeed, it is rare now to see one of the Edinburgh or Glasgow professionals, loaned-out to a Premiership side, really dominating a game by their sheer class.

 

Indeed, when you see on a weekly basis the quality of some of the fringe professionals who train at Murrayfield or Scotstoun all week, but go back to their clubs on a Saturday, I feel we are now at the juncture where a third professional team could work.

 

I also would like to see the clubs pushing for the establishment of a "semi-professional" Premiership, this too would, I am sure, work. Unfortunately, if such a league was to be formed, some "Establishment" clubs would miss out, and we cannot have that, can we.

 

But, the Premiership clubs need to spend some money too in upgrading their facilities, and, I realise such work does not come cheap. One or two of the grounds are still on the primitive side, with unsubstantial grand-stands, with roofs that leak. While a considerable sum needs to be spent on some of the pitches.

 

Funding such improvements does not come cheap, and, there's not a lot of spare cash in the game. Also, the Premiership does not, I feel, get the media coverage the quality of the play deserves. There is some way still to go.

 

 

Ugly Wins On An Ugly Night

BRIO and elan were sort of the Glasgow watchwords as they swept to the Pro12 title last season. This season, albeit with the World Cup as a not entirely welcomed diversion at the start of the campaign, they have stuttered somewhat.

 

In some ways this is a reaction to change. Niko Matawalu, who so-often provided the X-Factor in Glasgow performances has gone, as has Shade Munro, who had so much to do with the forward effort.

 

Great player though he is, Mike Blair is no Niko, while Henry Pyrgos, by his very absence, is showing how important he was last season. Add in the fact, new forwards coach Dan McFarland is still getting to know his first-pick pack, and it is no surprise that Glasgow are struggling.

 

Still, they again won ugly against Treviso, last night - a night when even the city centre pigeons in Glasgow largely walked. A win is a win is a win, but, once again, the penalty count against Glasgow was horrendous - this needs sorting out, fast.

 

 

 

EDINBURGH meanwhile, finally secured a bonus-point win, over a Dragons team who to my eyes, seemed to arrive at Murrayfield determined to lose by as few points as possible.

 

Scarlets apart, Welsh regional rugby is in a bit of a state just now and Dragons were, at times embarrassing. They copped four yellow cards, and might have had more, but, the fact we had an almost useless Italian referee in charge, in many ways played into Dragons' hands.

 

Last weekend, for the European games, 60 match officials were listed as either referees or assistant referees, not one was Scottish. Now, I have, in the past, been critical of Scottish referees, but, even I cannot believe that we do not have a single match official considered to be in the top 60 in Europe.

 

And, when I watched the mess that Italian made at Murrayfield last night, I was even more convinced - our referees are not that bad.

 

Mind you, while it has to be said, Alan Solomons has now got the Edinburgh pack firing on all eight cylinders, there is still something missing behind the capital side's scrum. Too often, all the good work of the pack last night was undone by poor passing and a lack of running power from the backs.

 

The Glasgow backs, behind that Edinburgh pack, would have had the bonus-point parcelled-up by half-time, of that I am sure.

 

 

 

GAME of the Day in the BT Premiership this afternoon looks like being the Mansfield Park clash of Hawick and champions Heriot's. A home win will confirm the growing belief that the Green Machine is beginning to rumble once more, it promises to be fascinating.

 

Gala seemed to shake-off a terrible run of results by beating Glasgow Hawks at Netherdale last week. This afternoon they head west to face Ayr at Millbrae.

 

Defeat at the Greenyards last weekend saw Ayr's lead at the top of the table halved to five points, so, they will be keen to re-establish themselves as a winning side. But, this is always a hard-fought match, which could go either way. 

Glasgow Picked A Fine Time to Have A Bad Night At The Office

WHEN it comes to England v Scotland clashes in any sport, receive wisdom is - because of England's greater resources in players, cash and facilities, for any Scottish team to beat any equivalent English team, in any given sport: ALL the Scottish players have to have good games, one or two English players have to be off-the-boil and, the Scottish team has to get at least an even hand from the referee.

 

If that happens, we just might win, otherwise, we will lose.

 

And thus it proved in last night's Glasgow v Northampton match in the European Rugby Champions Cup. I thought Glasgow had a chance, particularly with home advantage at Scotstoun. But, that wee bit of received wisdom was sitting at the back of my brain, and, it proved to be true. Glasgow didn't perform, Northampton did; the referee was mince, at least as far as the Scots were concerned - Northampton won.

 

I didn't see the game, since I refuse to subscribe to Sky TV. But, I did listen to the BBC radio commentary, with the wonderful Bill Johnstone and the always entertaining, if not exactly unbiased Peter Wright.

 

That Wright considers referees a plook on the face of the game we would do better without is hardly a secret in Scottish rugby. He was not impressed by the French official at Scotstoun. However, Peter was not that biased he could not admit, the better team won.

 

So, where does Glasgow go from here?

 

Well, for a start, back to basics in the pack. I appreciate they have a new forwards coach this season, who is still getting to know his pack - particularly since 12 of his forwards were involved in the Rugby World Cup, while another four were in Scotland's pre-tournament squad and didn't do the club pre-season, while his second and third-choice hookers are both out with injuries sustained during the World Cup. So, it can reasonably be argued, the pack is still under-cooked as a club unit.

 

Since Northampton, like every other Aviva Premiership club, is locked into the English philosophy of scrum dominance. this was always bad news for Glasgow, going into yesterday's game. The fact, due to circumstances beyond their control, Glasgow didn't get a chance to get up to European speed against Racing Metro, and were even more under-cooked than the Saints - well, it was an accident waiting to happen.

 

Some very hard work is now called for, between now and next month's next round of European games. But, for a start, I hope Dan McFarland quickly wakes-up to one obvious point: sadly, Ryan Grant is now a shadow of the wonderful prop he was two years ago. I fear Grant, like his great long-time opponent, Adam Jones, has completely failed to deal with the change in the scrum engagement protocol. Ever since the change both he and Jones, have been going backwards.

 

Unless Grant can very quickly adapt, then perhaps the younger Alex Allen should be promoted as back-up to Gordon Reid, who is now surely beyond doubt, Glasgow's number-one Number One.

 

On the other side of the scrum, it now seems self-evident, losing both Euan Murray and Jon Welsh go at the same time was a huge mistake. I accept, Zander Fagerson has huge potential, but, he is not yet ready for regular first team rugby. In fact, I would suggest the slightly older D'arcy Rae, currently offers more. I also have my doubts about Sila Puafisi being the answer, he has yet to convince me.

 

On the evidence of Bill Johnstone's commentary of last night, Finn Russell and Mark Bennett both had an off-night. Disappointing thought that was, I am a firm believer in form being temporary, class being permanent - they will be back.

 

OK, Glasgow lost, and badly, but, they will bounce back.

 

Meanwhile, Edinburgh went to Agen and won well in the European Challenge Cup. They just might be capable of doing a Glasgow, and, in season two, winning a competition in which they reached the final in season one. 

 

 

 

MELROSE, meanwhile, did themselves and the rest a huge favour by beating Ayr at The Greenyards, to half the Ayrshire side's lead at the top of the BT Premiership to five points.

 

Of course, now the destination of the league title is decided by the outcome of the end-of-season play-offs, rather than by coming out in front after the 18-game regular season, finishing first is not the be-all and end-all it used to be, but, finishing first at the end of the regular season, though it carries no tangible reward, is still a major feat.

 

Ayr, Melrose and Heriot's will again feature in the play-offs. Which club finishes fourth is now the main point of interest, with several contenders vying for the position.

 

 

 

SO, Eddie Jones is the new England coach. At his age, a nice move and a great little earner. After he fails, and the RFU system virtually ensures he will fail, he will have a nice little top-up to his pension pot to look forward to.     

Gaun Yersel Big Yin - We Will Miss You

THE sudden and untimely death of Jonah Lomu has shocked us all. Of course, we knew he had been ill for some time - his on-going problems having done what few defences could and stopped him. Still, that he should be gone at only 40 leaves a huge gap.

 

There had been big wingers before him. The first season I ever sat in the old schoolboy seats around the pitch at Murrayfield, I remember thinking how huge Ireland's (Sir) Tony O'Reilly looked. AJF O'Reilly was six foot three and 14 and a half stones - taller and heavier than at least one of the Scottish second rows in the opposition.

 

But, what really sets Jonah apart is the realisation, he was the same height, but maybe a stone heavier than Scotland's greatest second row, Big Gordon Brown. Jonah broke the mould - now, seemingly every nation is seeking to field at least one Lomuesque clone on the wing.

 

Some of these guys are good, but, nobody will ever have the same effect on the game as Jonah had.

 

Even after his kidney problems surfaced, when he made any of his comebacks from hospitalisation, the X-factor had maybe gone, but, the All Blacks still found a way to use him. The mere threat of Lomu coming-in off his wing onto scrum ball would distract defences. Sometimes he got the ball, and scored, sometimes, the improved defences from when he first burst on the scene could stop him, but, more-often, he was a dummy runner, drawing-in three defenders to create space further out.

 

He was a class act, on, but more-importantly off the pitch. He lived life in a goldfish bowl, but always had time for his public. His had been a hard upbringing, he did his best to help the next generation of Pacific Islanders who had been drawn to New Zealand to avoid the mistakes he had made.

 

He was an icon to these youngsters - if Jonah could make it, so could they. He definitely left a legacy.

 

I remember speaking to several Scottish members of our Commonwealth Games team in Kuala Lumpur in 1998. Jonah was there with the New Zealand Sevens team. Even other competitiors who had won Olympic medals wanted to be photographed with Jonah - at those Games, the Scots tell me - he really was First Among Equals, surrounded as he was by greats in other sports.

 

One Scot still speaks with feeling about being seated next to Jonah at one of the athletes evenings. Of how humble and ordinary he was, asing about life in Scotland, speaking of his own life in Auckland - then, when the dancing began, Jonah suddenly leapt up, ripped-off his team tee-shirt and did an impromptu Haka.

 

"It was electrifying - he brought the house down", says my still awed spectator.

 

Aye Jonah Lomu - a genuine global superstar. Rest easy Big Man, and thanks for the many memories.

Good Story, But, The Best Bit Was Missed Out

SOMTIMES I despair at the quality of what passes for rugby journalism in Scotland's mainstream media these days.

Take this morning, for instance. The principal rugby story in both the Herald and The Scotsman, the two main rugby newspapers in Scotland is slightly differing versions of an interview Lewis Stuart did with Warriors' hooker Pat McArthur.

As far as it went, it was a good piece, which did offer Glasgow's most-successful sports team some exposure. Getting column centimetres in a city where it sometimes seems the only sporting show in town is the whitabootery around the Bigot Brothers football clubs is no easy matter.

Just one wee thing, if you have to speak to Pat McArthur, THE story is, with the opening game in Glasgow's European campaign coming up at the weekend, just how does Pat feel about being the only experienced hooker standing?

Regardless of the views of Vern Cotter and his team at Murrayfield, McArthur is Warriors' first-choice hooker. His deputies, Fraser Brown and Kevin Bryce may both have been in the Rugby World Cup squad, but, at Scotstoun, McArthur is first-pick in the number two shirt.

Brown and Bryce, respectively the second and third-choices for Gregor Townsend are both currently injured, as is fourth-choice Fergus Scott. This means, unless Jesus of Nazareth has joined the staff of whichever private hospital currently looks after the injured Warriors, McArthur's back-up in France at the weekend is likely to be James Malcolm, who has approximately one minute of Pro12 experience.

No harm to young James, the latest member of a proud Glasgow rugby dynasty to wear Glasgow's colours; but, is Racing 92, away the sort of place where you would want a 21-year-old Scottish Rugby Stage Three Development Player possibly having to throw into a "must-win" line-out close to your own line, with the match on a kinfe-edge?

James's last start was for Ayr, at Selkirk last month. IF he is needed in Paris, he will give it his best shot, I wish him well, but, it's a big ask of an almost untried kid, to go there and potentially do a crucial job. OK, Toony could not legislate for having three hookers injured at the same time - shit happens - usually to Scottish clubs, but, we must pray this week for no untoward late calamities befalling McArthur.

So, when you have the possibilities outlined above as a potential scenario, what was the point of a meaningless, bland, interview by numbers with McArthur? The bigger story is out there.

THERE was an interesting wee development at The Greenyards on Saturday, when big Scott McLeod re-appeared in a Hawick shirt. Now the big man has had a somewhat chequered career, but, when fit and firing, he always has been a tremendous second-row operator.

I for one welcome his return to the Green Machine, where he and Bruce McNeil will offer a tried and tested central core to the pack.

He has already made a big difference to the Greens as a forwards coach, assisting Nikki Walker, his impact, on the park, will be, if anything, even greater.

And, how great it is to see yet another former Scotland cap going back to his roots to play out his career, helping to bring through the next generation.

THE Celtic Family has a funny wee code for when the next crisis at Ibrox rears its head. On some internet, somewhere, one of "The Greatest Fans In The World" will finish his post with: "Jelly and Ice Cream ready", as they settle down to watch the fun.

Right now, its Jelly and Ice Cream overkill for us on rugby's Celtic fringes, as the RFU get around to sorting out England's World Cup Disaster. Now, World Cup Disasters and England are nothing new.

Right from the first English World Cup adventure, when their football team confidently set-off for Brazil in 1950, only to be undone by an American "pub team" which happened to contain one or two players who had come through the killing fields of Scottish Junior Football, and whose goal which beat England would be scored by Joe Gatjeans, a Haitian, who later vanished after being called in for a wee chat by Papa Doc Duvalier's Ton-Ton-Macute - England has made a habit of disproving their Master Race status on the biggest sporting stages.

Mind you, I don't think anything previous, not even dwarf-throwing in 2011 in New Zealand has quite come close to tripping-up against Wales this year. If someone ever writes a companion volume to that wonderful tome on British Imperialist military history, with the spotlight on English sporting disasters - that last line-out against Wales will feature highly.

At least, we can point to poor refereeing as a mitigating factor in our own late line-out fuck-up at Twickenham, England have only themselves to blame for the Horlicks they made of that one against Wales.

Any way, as a consequence of not getting out of their group, England could only watch the interesting bit of their World Cup, and now, a scapegoat or scapegoats are being sought.

With the calm authority they have always shown, the English MSM is now engaged on a hunt to find the next sacrificial victim - because, let's be frank, that's the role that whoever they choose to succeed Stuart Lancaster will be cast into.

I doubt if any coach can now save England. The old farts at Twickenham will never again allow a coach to be as driven and focussed as Sir Clive Woodward was in winning them the World Cup in 2003.

It was the same in football, Sir Alf Ramsey, a man every bit as selfish and driven as Woodward, delivered the big one in 1966. The FA sacked him, the RFU were a bit more-suntle, they made Woodward's job untenable.

The English system is all wrong, it is skewed in favour of the big clubs, with their sugar daddy owners. The England team will never be allowed to become what it should be, THE focus. Until it does, England will struggle.

So, let's sit back and enjoy the fun as they tear themselves apart and do not rebuild properly. Jelly and Ice Cream please.



WELL, jings, crivvens, help ma Boab! Out of the blue, David Denton has left Edinburgh for Bath. Assuming a transfer fee is involved, I would call this a good bit of business for Edinburgh and the SRU.

Denton out, John Hardie in - I call that a win for Alan Solomons and the Union. I have always thought Denton was a good player, just not as good as his supporters made him out to be.

With Hardie at seven - two from Mike Coman, Cornell du Preez, Hamish Watson, Roddy Grant or the young guns, Magnus Bradbury or Jamie Ritchie, Edinburgh are well covered in the back row, so, it is a good move to let Denton go.

Let's face it, he has always been more of an English-type player, running into rather than round people. I don't see him as one of our more-capable player when it comes to the high-tempo, off-loading game which Scottish rugby is now trying to play.      

Burgess - A Gamble That Misfired

THE big rugby news of the week has surely been Sam Burgess's decision to quit Bath and Rugby Union for Sydney and Rugby League.

OK, I for one would not be too-disappointed if it got to the stage whereby Scotland was beating England every time they played. Like every other Celt, I have been brought up to believe victories over the Common Enemy are sweeter.

The paradox is, it is always that wee bit sweeter to beat a half-decent England team than one that is shite - and right now, England is shite; yet, still they beat us in the 2015 Six Nations.

That said, I see things being a wee bit different in February, next year.

Picking Burgess was always going to be a gamble. As I wrote before, you cannot put a player into an international team in a position in which he is not first-choice with his club side.

In his few outings in the centre for Bath, Burgess demonstrated all too clearly, he was not as good a centre as Jamie Joseph or Kyle Eastmond. Why therefore, given the evidence of match performance, was he fast-tracked into the England side in that position?

Bath  saw Burgess as a better fit as a number six, blind-side flanker, a position which takes a wee bit of learning. He ought, perhaps, have been left to learn the basics of that position at club level, before being introduced to the international scene.

Of course, enticing him over from Rugby League was a costly business. It is understood, the RFU had some input into this, so, perhaps, there was a rush to get some sort of value from money from the move, which over-rode the fact he was having to learn a new game.

We can, however, be grateful, the SRU does not have that kind of money to burn on taking a punt on a player. Mind you, the punt they did take, on John Hardie, which cost a lot less than Twickenham/Bath paid for Burgess, paid off spectacularly better.

THE SRU does appear to have a better record when it comes to player welfare than the RFU does. It helps, of course, that the majority of our professional players are controlled by the Union, rather than, as is the case in England, by individual clubs.

For instance, look at how well Jonny Gray has been looked after as his youthful promise has been converted into international delivery, this young man is already one of the outstanding locks in Europe, and, if not quite, yet, absolute world-class, he is getting there at a rate of knots.

The faith the SRU and Glasgow has in him has been demonstrated this week by the younger Gray being named as the new Warriors' captain and handed a new three-year contract.

Speaking of the Warriors, their team to play Cardiff Blues, at Cardiff Arms Park tomorrow looks a lot more like the real Warriors, as they warm-up the big guns for the imminent European Cup challenge.

The team is:

15. Stuart Hogg
14. Taqele Naiyaravoro
13. Mark Bennett
12. Peter Horne
11. Tommy Seymour
10. Finn Russell
9. Grayson Hart

1. Gordon Reid
2. Pat MacArthur
3. Sila Puafisi
4. Leone Nakarawa
5. Jonny Gray (Captain)
6. Josh Strauss
7. Chris Fusaro
8. Adam Ashe

Replacements

16. James Malcolm
17. Ryan Grant
18. Zander Fagerson
19. Greg Peterson
20. Rob Harley
21. Ryan Wilson
22. Mike Blair
23. Junior Bulumakau

That's an all-international starting XV, with a further five of the eight replacements also being full internationals. You know, when you look at that strength-in-depth, Warriors just might have the strongest squad in the UK.

In fact, Warriors have more than a full XV of internationalists either injured or not listed   for Saturday. Several of these unused players will be turning out in BT Premiership matches and I, for one, will be interested in seeing how the likes of Jerry Yanuyanutawa and the uncapped James Eddie go at Millbrae, where they are due to feature for Glasgow Hawks, against Ayr - given both have been seen in pink and black within the last year.

One Warrior who will not be featured at Ayr is Stage Three Development Player Robbie Fergusson, who has been loaned-out to London Scottish, to gain more experience at a higher level than the Premiership.

Why then is he not even listed on the bench for Scottish's game against Jersey tomorrow? Come on SRU, if he is sent to Richmond, he should be playing, otherwise, leave him at Ayr.

Or do the Murrayfield Mandarins enjoy having Jock Craig and Billy McHarg swearing at them?



TOMORROW'S BT Premiership programme throws up the prospect of some exciting games, with local derbies all over the shop, and not just at Millbrae.

Gala's slump this season has been a shock to many and, I have a funny feeling, after so-many near-misses this season, Selkirk just might beat them to post their first win of the season.



FINALLY, it is sad, but, not altogether surprising, to see Alasdair Strokosh announcing his retirement from international rugby.

At 32, and given the strength-in-depth Scotland can now boast in back rowers, I can well understand his decision to quit.

Enjoy the rest of your career big man.