Let's Wait For The Details Of The South African Deal

NEEDLESS to say while some of the papers picked-up on the not-so-new news that the two South African teams, the Kings and the Cheetahs will be joining the Celtic League, and it will go forward as the Guinness PRO14 rather than the PRO12, from Murrayfield came their only silence.

Certainly the SRU re-tweeted the Celtic League statement, which confirmed that talks with the South African Rugby Union as to the two teams joining the Celtic League are at an advanced stage. But, since the Celtic League board and the South African board still have to finalise a deal, and the Irish, Scottish and Welsh Unions will then have to rubber stamp it, the SRU will say nothing until the deal is done.

So, I have no problems with the silence. Mind you, I can think of at least one supposedly rugby-friendly Scottish newspaper which has, only this morning, three days later than its rivals, gone anywhere near this story. Maybe if either of the South African teams had the words Celtic or Rangers in their name, they would have noticed sooner.

We must therefore await developments. I believe it will happen, but, what transpires going forward – forrit tho Ah canna see, Ah guess and fear.

One thing is certain, when Edinburgh and Glasgow fly south to play in Bloemfontein an Port Elizabeth, they will not be taking a big support with them. The return air fare to these places comes out at just under £700; there are no direct flights, most will require a minimum of two changes of aircraft and flights will take more than 24-hours. Throw-in hotel bills and general spending and, any Scottish-based fans travelling will need either, deep pockets, or, relatives in South Africa to put them up.

The teams will, I fear, be reliant on the Caledonian diaspora for support in South Africa.

Mind you, South African TV is reportedly about to put some big money the Celtic League's way, so, if this transmits to additional income for the two clubs, it just might keep one or two of our big names at home.

Right now, Jonny Gray, Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg are three of the hottest names in rugby. If additional South African TV money keeps them at Scotstoun for a year or three, you will not find the Warrior nation moaning.

Win - win: if South African money keeps these two at Glasgow

By the way, yesterday morning's hot gossip, that Jonny Gray was about to join big brother Richie at Montpelier is, I hope, just a good silly close season rumour, of the sort we are well-used to in football.

Little brother turns-up in France to see big brother and is spotted – two plus two equals five.

The PRO12 expansion will apparently see the regular season fixtures split, with two seven-club divisions, each of which will have two Irish, two Welsh, one Scottish, one Italian and one South African club.

There will be additional cross-pool games – the likes of the 1872 Cup matches, but, initially, it might be that the clubs play fewer games, which I think is no bad thing.

Still to be decided, for season 2018-19 an hopefully beyond, are such questions as: will the South African teams, should they qualify, be permitted to play in the two European competitions? At the moment, the understanding is, they will not – but, in sport, where money talks – never say never.

Bringing-in the two South African teams is a big change, and a huge gamble. Let's see how it goes.

For all the difficulties, I still think this form of expansion is a better bet than the mooted move into the North American market.

SCOTLAND'S Women's 7s squad have a big date this weekend. They will be in Hungary, for the second leg of their Rugby-Europe Women's 7 trophy campaign.

Having won last time out, Scott Wight's squad are determined to repeat that result, and gain promotion to the elite Grand Prix Series next season.

After a few seasons of disappointing results, it is good to see Scotland, the nation which invented the short game, starting to make waves and taste success.

TO BE HONEST, I could barely be arsed bothering with the recent English, Welsh and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. I still reckon, Warren Gatland was looking for any excuse to ditch Stuart Hogg and play a Welshman, any Welshman, at full-back. Hoggie's injury simply saved him having to act.

Then, as one Scottish fan pointed-out, Tommy Seymour, the Lions' top try-scorer on the tour, would have needed to have scored a hat-trick every time out, and laid a golden egg, to make the Test side. Or that's how it seemed to us back home in Scotland.

Tommy Seymour - not Welsh enough to get a Test cap maybe

Obviously the Lions now go into hibernation for four years, prior to heading for South Africa. The brand makes money – for the hosting nations, so, in the wake of New Zealand, there have been noises-off about more Lions' tours.

One suggestion which came up was that they tour Argentine, and why not. The Lions have been there before, in the three so-called: “forgotten” tours. Why not send Developing Lions squads, as they did back then pre-WWII to Argentine?

I venture, Scots would have a big say in any such tour.

REGULAR readers of this blog will be aware, I strongly support the club game in Scotland, and have never deviated from by belief that the Murrayfield Mandarins treat the club game with, if not absolute disdain, well, I get the impression they think the clubs are a distraction best dealt with via the “mushroom” management method.

This, in case you have forgotten, means: “Keep them in the dark and every now and then, throw some shite over them”.

Of course, it goes without saying, this is Scottish sport – the diversion they brought in when clan wars were outlawed – tribalism still rules and the clubs will, whenever possible, fight like rats in a sack.

OK, I can perhaps understand the SRU's reluctance to allow our top club sides to enter the British & Irish Cup. With Ayr being the only Scottish club to ever qualify from the groups for the knock-out stages, our clubs have never made a convincing case for continued exposure to this level of rugby.

That said, I refuse to believe Glasgow and Edinburgh could not utilise the B&I as a means of giving their fringe players additional game time, their squads perhaps, if needed, augmented by some of our top Premiership talent.

I know the Club XV gets at least one, if not two fixtures per season, (although last season they only managed one game). Surely, it is not beyond the wit of the governing bodies to institute an “amateur” Six Nations Championship in which the Club XV could participate.

The Club XV which beat Ireland in 2015

The Club XV is supposed to play England and Ireland each season. They have played France Amateurs in the past, surely the Welsh Premiership clubs and the Italian top flight could also provide fixtures.

The England Counties XV, which the Club XV plays each season, also manages regular end-of-season tours. OK, England's RFU has more money than the SRU, so tours to places such as East Africa and North America – recent Counties' destinations – but, I am sure Club XV tours to some of the second and third tier European nations would be good for the players, of both the Scottish and European sides.

I recall, some 30-years ago, interviewing Richie Dixon, when he was Glasgow Coach, and he was, back then, involved in an advisory capacity with the Swedish RFU. If the SRU was helping develop rugby in Europe then – why cannot the Club XV help that development today.

I appreciate the hard work that has been and is still being done, with the next generation of professionals – through the age group teams. However, player development is not an exact science. Tight five forwards, for instance, take longer to develop – they are not all Jonny Grays or Scott Cummings.

Who knows, maybe more and more regular games for the Club XV, will helped bring some “slower-burners” through into the Edinburgh and Glasgow squads.

RIGHT, that's the elite Premiership players taken care of, but, what about the rest. A year or more ago, we heard of plans for an Italian-Scottish Cup, which would pit our top club sides – the ones not good enough for the B&I Cup – against the top Italian sides.

This was down-graded to a single game between the respective champions, and did not really work. I see nothing wrong with trying again against the Italians, however, there may be an alternative.

Big Jock Craig, the straight-talking Ayrshire farmer who was for so-long Director of Rugby at Ayr, came up, a couple of seasons ago, with an alternative suggestion to the B&I or Italian Cups.

Jock's notion was an Irish-Scottish Cup, featuring the top four clubs from the BT Premiership and the top four clubs in the Ulster Bank All-Ireland League.

It might work. There is a long history of games between Irish and Scottish clubs; they are near-neighbours and I doubt if finding a sponsor would be too-difficult.

Both leagues operate with the system of the top four at the end of the regular season going into semi-finals and a final to determine the Champions. In Scotland, Ayr finished second – but were crowned Champions; in Ireland, Cork Constitution finished the regular season in fourth place, but came through the play-offs, to win the title.

Surely it would not be difficult to set-up and run a short, sharp knock-out tournament featuring the eight clubs.

Such a tournament might smooth over the stop-start nature of the club season, and bring fresh impetus to the club game. We need something to do this.

FINALLY, born, raised and still living in a coal-mining area, I know all about the dangers of subsidence from old workings. So, I have some sympathy for the guys at Old Anniesland, now that hallowed area of sporting turf is seemingly sinking due to old mine workings. Taking the selfish view – parking for games at Balgray is going to be hell.