Rugby Coverage Has Changed And Not For The Better

WHEN I was compiling yesterday's blog, and researching the historical stuff, I kicked-off back in 1927, 90-years ago. I picked an arbitrary date out of the air – the last Monday in October, since, by then the new season had been running two full months, so the clubs should all have been up to speed.

The Herald's rugby coverage was on page 14 – seven columns of closely-packed broadsheet print, a lot of it in small print, 8pt I would say: this is 8pt, not easy to read I must admit.

Crammed onto that one page, there was a two column “Rugby Review”, which covered the main points of the Saturday rugby action, focusing on the big matches and issues. This was followed by eight reports, including teams, on matches in the Unofficial Championship; a report on the solitary Border League game played on the Saturday; four reports of game in the West District Union; ten other short match reports ; nine reports on schools games and three reports on the matches in England which featured London Scottish and Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

There was also a full report on the touring New South Wales Waratahs' match at Leicester; nearly two columns of results from Scotland and England, including schools results and results from games involving English Public Schools, plus Rugby League results; full league tables for the Unofficial Championship, the Border League and the West District Union. They even found time for three separate rugby news stories, plus about half a column of golf and a short billiards piece.

By 8 October, 1973, the Monday following the inaugural Saturday of the official Scottish Leagues, the rugby coverage had shrunk. There were still reports of games featuring three of Glasgow's then four top league clubs, those involving Glasgow HSFP, the featured match under a huge Bill McMurtrie picture by-line; John Downie's report on Jordanhill College's win over Heriot's and an uncredited report on West of Scotland's win over Watsonians at Myreside.

There was a round-up of the other games featuring Glasgow sides, a schools' report – Hutcheson's Grammar School v Morrison's Academy plus the results from matches in all five divisions of the National Leagues, plus the Glasgow and Edinburgh District Leagues. Add results from the big games south of the Border, plus the schools results; throw-in some team selections for midweek games, and rugby still got a good show, in about two-thirds of page seven. There was even an action picture from the featured game.

Today, if you are not Glasgow, Edinburgh or Scotland, you will struggle to get a mention in the Herald. Their coverage of the club game, via the BT Premiership, is minimal at best.

Yesterday, the Guinness PRO12 announced its expansion to become the PRO14, with the arrival of the two South African teams. The Herald did manage a piece, under Head of Sport Stewart Weir's by-line, covering the announcement, but, they still appear unaware of the stooshie over the proposed semi-professional league.

Speaking of which, those of us who are conspiracy theorists and see this as a Murrayfield diversion, aimed at kidding the clubs the “blazers” care about them, got ammunition from SRU CEO Dominic McKay's interview about the PRO14.

 Dominic McKay - what he didn't say was more than what he did say

We all know this will, allegedly bring a further £6 million of funding per year to the league over the initial period of South African involvement. This works out, I estimate, in around £425,000 per club, per.

That would cover the bulk of the announced £100,000 per year to be given to the proposed six semi-pro clubs – except, in his interview, Dominic McKay spoke of how much this new funding would help Edinburgh and Glasgow, enabling them to hopefully attract even more external funding to keep them viable.

No mention there of the semi-professional teams. The figures do not add-up as far as I can see. I am becoming more and more certain, this six-club, semi-professional idea will be hoofed into touch, to lie undisturbed in the long grass until the clubs again get restless – some years down the line.

THERE WAS another blow for Scotland yesterday, with the announcement that Chiefs' back-up scrum-half Finlay Christie had signed a two-year deal with the Hurricanes.

Finlay Christie, has signed for Hurricanes

I was not alone in hoping Dave Rennie might try to bring the Scots-born Christie to Glasgow with him. The thought of Christie and Ali Price vying for the number nine shirt was exciting, but, it now looks as if Christie, if he becomes an internationalist, and he has the talent to do so, it will be in black rather than navy blue. Shame.

I WATCHED the BBC Wales' 70^th birthday tribute to Sir Gareth Edwards last night on BBC2. A right good watch it was too, with lots of stunning tries, albeit a bit too - “Aren't we wonderful” from various old boyos.

Sir Gareth Edwards - a deserved tribute

 

Two thoughts, the first being – why cannot BBC Scotland do such programmes, it is not as if we lack our own sporting icons? The second, why do they keep praising Phil Bennett's “try” at Murrayfield in 1977, as one of the all-time greats.

Now, the side step “Benny” produced to get past Ian McLauchlan, a mobile one, but, still a loose-head prop, would surely have taken the Welsh 10 past anyone; that is a given.

 Phil Bennett - a great try, but

However, Gerald Davies's pass on half-way, to centre David Burcher was not just marginally forward, it was so-clearly forward, I am still trying to work out how referee Guy Domercq and his touch-judge missed it.

In theory, a great try, yes; but, it should never have been given. Forty years on, it still annoys me.