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.
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