Have Our Celtic Neighbours With Their Development League Just Holed Stupid-6 Below The Waterline?

DAMN that David Barnes – the big man and his terrific THE OFFSIDE LINE website has yet again, scooped Scotland's rugby media with yesterday's little exclusive – in Scottish terms any way – news of a proposed eight club tournament, featuring the A teams of Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster and the newly-formed Under-23 squads from Cardiff Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets, their Welsh counterparts in the PRO14.

An eight-club competition makes sense. As explained by TOL, the idea is that it be run as an intense, short, sharp event, over seven weeks – the aim, to as near as possible replicate the intensity of the main PRO14. The new competition also fills the gap left by the abandonment of ; finding similthe British & Irish Cup, from which, let us not forget, the SRU withdrew the Scottish sides some years back.

Ayr v Bristol in the British & Irish Cup; finding similar cross-border games for Ayr's Stupid-6 franchise could prove to be a headache for the SRU suits if the Irish-Welsh Development League goes ahead

The Irish and Welsh have decided, player development, bridging the gap between the club game and developing Academy prospects and the full-time PRO14 squads, is best done in-house, by those PRO14 sides. The SRU for their part, has gone with the controversial Stupid-6 franchises. That's my reading of it, and, until irrefutable proof is presented, I will continue to say – Stupid-6 is the wrong approach, introduced for what I see are the wrong reasons. It is doomed to fail.

Perhaps the Murrayfield “suits” were hoping, when they came-up with this preposterous franchise suggestion, to be able to offer games against the B teams from the Irish provinces and Welsh regions – that idea now seems a non-starter.

Certainly, in their preliminary pitch for the Under-23 regional sides, the WRU spoke of managing player development, by alternating blocks of fitness, strength and conditioning and skills work, with blocks of actual playing time, spread over the season. There may well be blocks outwith the seven-game schedule of the new competition in which the Stupid-6 franchises can be accommodated for cross-border games, while the same might be in place with the Irish sides. The truth is, at this stage, we do not know.

One of the fall-back positions the SRU took, after pulling the plug on the B&I Cup – prematurely in my view – was the abortive Italian-Scots Cup. When first suggested, this was to feature the top four club sides from both nations. It was then watered-down to a straight two-legged affair, initially supposed to be between the respective Club Champions, but, in the end became the Italian-Scottish Challenge, played, in November, 2016, between Heriots and “Emerging Italy”, who won 43-15.

 Heriots v Emerging Italy in 2016 - might a revamped Italian Job save the SRU's bacon re cross-border games for the six franchised clubs?

In spite of the defeat, Phil Smith, the Heriots coach thought it a worthwhile venture, but, since that inaugural double-header, nothing, nada, zilch. Given that the Irish and Welsh have instigated their own development league, it would make sense for the Italians and Scottish, both of whom have two PRO14 teams, to go in for a spot of mutual self-help too. The two South African teams, of course,benefit from that country's excellent development programme.

I would suspect an Italian job might be the SRU's best bet for cross-border games, but, of course, it all comes down to money and how much they are willing and able to put into such games – and how it might fit-in with the Italian development plan. Still, they have 15-months to come up with something.

WITH regard to Stupid-6, I received an email on this subject, from a member of one of the “lucky” half dozen franchises, who also has an interest in a well-known invitation side. I will not name him, but, I emphasise here, he is writing in a personal capacity, whey he says:

“First of all the Super 6 are franchises not clubs and as such they are by their nature set up to attract elite players to play semi professional rugby which implies that the players aspire to play professional rugby.

Few existing BT Premiership players have this potential and no club can convert their first XV into a Super 6 franchise. If they did then their franchise would fail and their club would be decimated. If a club is at the core of a franchise then they will at a maximum allocate 8-10 players to a Super 6 franchise and need to fill the rest of the franchise personnel requirements from other players both domestic and outside of the Scottish leagues.

Melrose win the Cup back in April - how many of these players will make the cut into the Melrose Stupid-6 squad? 

If the Super 6 are the pinnacle of the feeder system leading to professional rugby then they should either be allocated or develop a feeder system allowing a non-confrontational flow of players by capability through the system. The Super 6 team should have a responsibility for talent scouting and player development throughout the system in co-operation with the SRU and lower tier clubs. Clubs should be proud of a player being invited to play for a Super 6 franchise not see it as a failure or a loss or a theft.

A Super 6 franchise will have taken club players therefore if the core club has accepted to be demoted to National 1 by introducing a Super 6 franchise then there would be nothing wrong if the National 1 Club XV were to achieve promotion to the Premiership level. There is no demotion in Super 6 but promotion and demotion in the level of Premiership and National 1 should remain as is to maintain ambition.

Those clubs with a 300+ academy set up who have invested in their youth development programme will continue to be the life blood of club rugby and they will have the resources allocated to their existing club infrastructure while allowing some resources to be taken by the Super 6 franchise and by resources I mean the full structure of sponsors, management, coaching and support staff plus players.

Many players do not want to play Super 6. Some are good players who play in the BT Premiership but have no aspiration to be professional. Some are reaching the end of their sporting career and are transitioning into a professional life. The relationship between the SRU Academies and SRU Age Groups structures are as if not more important in a high performance structure.

Finally my main issue is who is going to watch Super 6. Apart from 3 Super 6 teams in Edinburgh we have seen how difficult it is for Edinburgh as a professional team to secure a following. It is essential that the scheduling of matches avoids Edinburgh teams playing at the same time in close proximity and that the franchises link into the club structure to get people to watch the matches that are on offer.”

A lot of good sense in there, and some points to ponder – particularly, I feel, in that last paragraph. I will just leave that here and await comment, but, I am sure, with Stupid-6 – I'll be back.