Cricket, in this country at least, is suffering a crisis of confidence - or something, at the moment. The seemingly unstoppable rise of the limited overs form of the game is, according to the traditionalists, harming the genuine three, four or five-day form of the game.
The need to score quickly has, apparently, seen a diminution in (in particular) batsmen's ability to craft the big 100-runs-plus score; while bowlers today do not have the stamina to bowl long spells.
This cuts little ice, particularly in the Indian sub-continent, where razz-mataz has made the IPL one of the richest leagues in sport.
But, that's cricket's problem. Something different has happened in rugby, particularly in Scotland.
Here we are in April, the sun is out, the pitches are dry and firm, the weather is perfect for playing French-style champagne rugby. Yet, what are most of Scotland's thousands of amateur players doing - virtually nothing.
Because April is Sevens month.
Tomorrow is the Holy Grail of the short game - the Melrose Sevens, when, apparently, everyone and his granny descends on the wee town, nestling in the less of the Eldon Hills, where, back in the days of Empire and Victoria, a butcher named Ned Haig invented the short game.
Nothing against Melrose, I enjoy the craic with the 'Rose lads during the season, the way they have kept their team at the top deserves credit, as, even more, does the way they have protected the name, legacy and aura of the Melrose Sevens, while, it has to be admitted, the allure of the other Borders teams' "sports" has faded somewhat.
But, in all honesty, I ask: is putting so-much attention on one single event, in the best interests of Scottish rugby as a whole in these 21st century days?
At one time, April was Sevens Month. The Borders circuit - Gala, Melrose, Hawick, Langholm then Jedforest was the main event, but, there were circuits in the other Scottish regions. In Glasgow, if memory serves me correct, it was something like Greenock Wanderers, Glasgow University, Ayr, Alan Glen's, with the Kilmarnock and the Easter Glasgow Academicals events - a sort of poor little rich boys Melrose-lite invitation event, also on the cards.
But, in recent years, and more-so since professionalism, with its need to lengthen the season to increase the potential cash take, Sevens has rather withered.
Attendances are down at the other Borders events, even though the Borders circuit has now been expanded to ten events, with the King of the Sevens title up for grabs for the best overall team across the ten events.
Elsewhere, the local sevens events, if they are still running, are a pale shadow of what they once were.
Now comes the problem. Melrose is the jewel in the crown; the traditionalist in me believes this tournament should, must, be maintained. The question is, how to do this, and, more-importantly, how do we preserve Sevens in its heartland?
Because, preserve it we must. We have to remember, after its introduction into the Olympic "family" at Rio next year, the likelihood is that Sevens will become THE global face of rugby.
Just as, thanks perhaps to the IPL, biff-bang-bosh T20 cricket has become the most-popular variant of the game, there is a chance Sevens will become the most-popular variant of rugby.
There already is an extensive global Sevens circuit; thanks to the differing seasons north and south of the equator, there is not yet a global 15-a-side circuit. Countries such as Fiji and Samoa are far-more-competitive in Sevens than in 15-a-side, likewise, lesser nations (in 15-a-side terms) such as Kenya have made an impact in the short game.
The SRU are, we hear, considering disbanding their sevens squad, just at the time this form of the game is about to take-off. Some try to justify this by pointing-out: "Ireland doesn't play it". Methinks, Ireland just might start competing once the Olympics kick-off.
Of course, we must accept, as things stand, the GB sevens squad in Rio will probably be an England-plus one, with little, if any, Scottish involvement; this need not always be the position.
As the place where sevens began, we have to defend our font of the game status in sevens. It does not help that the Glasgow leg of the IRB world sevens circuit is about to vanish, but before we properly defend Scottish sevens, we must have a plan, a strategy, a long-term goal.
This comes down to a complete re-vamp of our season; an acceptance at Murrayfield that, there is more to Scottish rugby than the two professional sides.
We have faffed about for too-long, let's sort things out - and we could start with the sevens.
At one time, April was Sevens Month. The Borders circuit - Gala, Melrose, Hawick, Langholm then Jedforest was the main event, but, there were circuits in the other Scottish regions. In Glasgow, if memory serves me correct, it was something like Greenock Wanderers, Glasgow University, Ayr, Alan Glen's, with the Kilmarnock and the Easter Glasgow Academicals events - a sort of poor little rich boys Melrose-lite invitation event, also on the cards.
But, in recent years, and more-so since professionalism, with its need to lengthen the season to increase the potential cash take, Sevens has rather withered.
Attendances are down at the other Borders events, even though the Borders circuit has now been expanded to ten events, with the King of the Sevens title up for grabs for the best overall team across the ten events.
Elsewhere, the local sevens events, if they are still running, are a pale shadow of what they once were.
Now comes the problem. Melrose is the jewel in the crown; the traditionalist in me believes this tournament should, must, be maintained. The question is, how to do this, and, more-importantly, how do we preserve Sevens in its heartland?
Because, preserve it we must. We have to remember, after its introduction into the Olympic "family" at Rio next year, the likelihood is that Sevens will become THE global face of rugby.
Just as, thanks perhaps to the IPL, biff-bang-bosh T20 cricket has become the most-popular variant of the game, there is a chance Sevens will become the most-popular variant of rugby.
There already is an extensive global Sevens circuit; thanks to the differing seasons north and south of the equator, there is not yet a global 15-a-side circuit. Countries such as Fiji and Samoa are far-more-competitive in Sevens than in 15-a-side, likewise, lesser nations (in 15-a-side terms) such as Kenya have made an impact in the short game.
The SRU are, we hear, considering disbanding their sevens squad, just at the time this form of the game is about to take-off. Some try to justify this by pointing-out: "Ireland doesn't play it". Methinks, Ireland just might start competing once the Olympics kick-off.
Of course, we must accept, as things stand, the GB sevens squad in Rio will probably be an England-plus one, with little, if any, Scottish involvement; this need not always be the position.
As the place where sevens began, we have to defend our font of the game status in sevens. It does not help that the Glasgow leg of the IRB world sevens circuit is about to vanish, but before we properly defend Scottish sevens, we must have a plan, a strategy, a long-term goal.
This comes down to a complete re-vamp of our season; an acceptance at Murrayfield that, there is more to Scottish rugby than the two professional sides.
We have faffed about for too-long, let's sort things out - and we could start with the sevens.
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