Dodson Facing A Grilling At Ayr

I SPENT some of my time at Millbrae on Saturday trying to gauge reaction to the news Mark Dodson is having his sat-nav re-programmed, so he can find his way to Millbrae on Wednesday, 28 February, to address an Ayr Rugby Club meeting on Super Six.

Mark Dodson - we are told he knows where Millbrae is, and can find his way there

The Ayr club missed no opportunity during an excellent match against Hawick, to remind their members of the meeting, its purpose and to encourage them to come along, have their say and put questions to the SRU's CEO.

Mind you, I have my concerns. The meeting is ten days away. Ayr don't have a game on Saturday – the Calcutta Cup taking precedence. It might be a dreich, wet night, the telly might be good – nobody, least of all the Ayr committee, can know how many people will turn up.

Dodson, we can be sure, will deliver a slick, well-prepared and thorough case for Super Six, it's his job to be good rather than merely competent at such set-pieces. I happen to believe, Super Six, while a good idea in principle, is built on sand, and, the question is – can anyone from the audience come-up with a Molotov cocktail which, when thrown at the Super Six tank, halt it in its tracks.

One particularly vociferous Millbrae critic of the plan, when asked what he would be asking Dodson, began a tirade about the referees in the PRO14 – a subject which has nothing to do with Super Six. Much will depend on who chairs the meeting then, to declare such questions out of order and ensure the points raised are relevant.

Find the flaws in the plan, expose them, and expose the SRU's lack of thought, that has to be the methodology of those who seek to derail Super Six. I hope they succeed.

Dodson and Co do not need to provide alternatives. Their stance has to be: “There are no alternatives – this is the only plan that can work.”

Persuading minds already made-up – you guys are wrong, will be the very difficult bit.

OF COURSE, the driving force behind Super Six is the SRU Performance Department's insistence: “The BT Premiership is not fit for purpose.” Therefore, all those years of history have to be torn-up.

I have been saying, since this whole Super Six nonsense first came-up, a more pertinent statement might be: “The SRU's Performance Department is not fit for purpose.” I base this on the following table:

played 6 - won 1 – drawn 0 – lost 5 – pts for 81 – pts against 209 – match pts won 5.

That sad line is Scotland's current position across all three versions – the main tournament, the women's tournament and the Under-20s tournament in the Nat West Six Nations. Not exactly inspiring is it.

We haven't much on-show in the shop window of the game. Sure, one or two specialist departments are doing well – Glasgow and Edinburgh for instance. But elsewhere, in the overall Six Nations, or in the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Series, where we currently lie 12^th, we are not doing as-well. So, for a professional body whose own teams are not exactly setting the heather on fire to be criticising the volunteer efforts of clubs across Scotland as: “Not fit for purpose”, is a bit rich.

Let's take a look at the Premiership, as it stands.

Melrose lead the table, with 69 points from 16 of their scheduled 18 games. They are guaranteed a home semi-final in the end-of-season play-offs between the top four sides.

BUT, Melrose don't have a clue as to who the other three clubs will be, and in what order they will finish. As things stand, Currie Chieftains lie second, with 59 points from 17 games; Watsonians are third, with 57 from 17, the same position as fourth-placed Ayr, with Watsonians having a 116 points advantage over Ayr in points difference, and having won their only meeting, so far, at Millbrae, earlier this season.

Heriot's are fifth, on 47 points from 16 games, and seemingly out of things – except.

The vagaries of the fixtures computer programme has thrown up a final round of games which will see Currie travel to Goldenacre for their final game – win this, they are second and have a home semi-final, and Heriot's fail to reach the play-offs.

Across Edinburgh, Watsonians will entertain Ayr. Whichever side wins this one, they will, depending on what transpires at Goldenacre, either finish second or third – except, IF Heriot's beat Currie, then win their game-in-hand against Boroughmuir, they could slip into fourth place at the expense of the losers at Myreside on 3 March.

So, a losing bonus point is the very minimum Watsonians and Ayr need from their match, to close on the door on the possibility of that late Heriot's charge.

Tough at the top - and bottom

At the bottom, Marr seemed dead and buried – until they shocked Currie with their bonus-point win at Malleny Park on Saturday. That shock result lifted Marr back into contention. They still prop-up the table, with 24 points from their 17 games, BUT, with a home game against Stirling County to finish, they could still escape automatic relegation.

IF Marr can post a bonus-point win over County, they will move onto 29 points, leaving Boroughmuir to take at least two losing bonus points from their meetings with Heriot's and at Glasgow Hawks, to avoid the drop.

And Hawick are not yet safe. Their last game is a Mansfield Park clash with Melrose. If they lose that, Marr might well, if they win well at home to County, overhaul them on points difference, since Hawick only have a seven points advantage as things stand.

There are just seven games left of the regular season, and in every game, one side, or both, has something to play for. No side can relax and smell the coffee.

Is this the sign of a league which is: “Not fit for purpose” Mr Dodson?