Lerwick To Stornoway - Easy It Isn't

I HAD a short but enjoyable and illuminating telephone conversation yesterday with one of the real enthusiasts of Scottish Rugby – Leigh-Anne Sinclair, of Shetland RFC.

Shetland kick-off against Stornoway (picture by Iain James Sports Photography/Stornoway RFC on Facebook)

The reason for my calling her was simple, I wanted to find out what was involved in Shetland getting to Stornoway last Saturday for their Caledonian North 3 meeting with the Lewis men, a match won 26-7 by the Gaelic speakers.

“It's a case of planes and cars,” Leigh-Anne explained. Things are looking up for the men from the Northern Isles this season, as they are now using Loganair to fly down to “civilisation” to play their games, where up until this season, they were regular sailors on the ferry to Aberdeen.

Last season, it was a case of a 12 and a half hour ferry sail from Lerwick to Aberdeen, followed by a bus ride, the 100 miles to Inverness Airport, before the nearly 100 miles flight to Stornoway, and a further road trip to the host club's Bayhead ground.

Now, it's a case of a one and three-quarter hour flight to Inverness, then a second, three-quarter hour flight to Stornoway, followed by the short trip from Stornoway Airport to Bayhead.

There is still the problem of fitting the match time around the Loganair flight schedules, not forgetting the fact, since they have a monopoly on both routes, and are part of BA. Loganair can, and does charge like like the HLI on hooch, but, it's a lot more convenient, and comfortable, that that lengthy ferry ride.

Those of us on the mainland, particularly we cosseted creatures in the central belt, I think perhaps fail to appreciate the effort people like Leigh-Anne and the others running our island teams put in to keep rugby alive on the margins in Scotland.

Shetland run both Men's and Women's XVs at adult and Under-18 level, and has a flourishing mini-section for both boys and girls. More power to their elbow. They also have a very interesting game coming-up on Sunday, the Northern Isles Women's Derby against Orkney.

I FOUND, via Facebook yesterday, a very interesting blog. It is written by Ben Gulliver, formerly of Coventry, Saracens, England Students, Plymouth Albion, Cornish Pirates, Leicester, Worcester Warriors, Bedford Blues and Ampthill. Ben is currently back where it all began, as Community Manager at Coventry – where his father is the first XV team manager.

Ben Gulliver - his tale may interest possible Super- players

It would be fair to say, Ben is one of rugby's “nearly men”. That England Students cap is his solitary honour, and while he was a solid average player in the second tier in England, he never established himself in the top flight.

His blog post tells of his travails in adapting to the switch from full-time to semi-professional status, the problems he encountered in trying to fit training, particularly the gym work, around a full-time “real” job – he tried teaching and selling Aston Martin cars among other occupations – plus the mental changes involved in going from playing rugby for a living to it being a second job.

“It was like a long drawn-out divorce case,” he says.

The blog, I feel, might be required reading for those players liable to be caught-up in Super-6, and will surely provide some food for thought. It can be found at:

http://365bg.blogspot.com/2018/

Interesting too, to see how Coventry, the club of those wonderful English and Lions wingers, Peter Jackson and David Duckham, of the mighty Fran Cotton, and so-many other England internationalists, is recovering from dropping down the rankings.

Coventry, looking to get back to where they were when David Duckham played for them

Their old Condon Road ground is long gone; Coventry currently play at Butts Park Arena, which has a capacity of 4000. However, the club has plans to extend it to a 12,000 capacity ground, with an artificial pitch, floodlighting, and an adjacent hotel, which would help make it self-sustaining. There are even tentative suggestions of a ground-share with Coventry City, who currently have an uneasy ground-share agreement with Wasps, who own their home ground the 32,000-plus Ricoh Arena.

Coventry are a full-time club, with intentions of getting the famous black and white hoops back to where they once were, in the front rank of English clubs. They have a current Scottish connection too, with former Hawks and Warriors winger Junior Bulumakau and his brother Andy both on the playing roster.

The Coventry story might offer inspiration to the likes of Gala, Hawick, West of Scotland and the other clubs who have fallen on hard times in Scotland. Except, I get the impression, the RFU is a bit more-supportive of club rugby than their counterparts at BT Murrayfield.

THE MURRAYFIELD Wanderers internal stooshie has, I see, taken a turn for the worst with the divisions within the club seeing their very successful Women's team kicked out of the Women's Premier League, after defaulting on their first four games.

Sadly, the clammy hands of the Murrayfield control freaks are all over this one, between their cack-handed mishandling of the Murrayfield Wanderers' home issue, the decision to change the women's calendar and to a degree – S6, since, apparently, some of the senior girls have had their heads turned by Heriot's chaps promising them the earth – did these women learn nothing from their mothers? He asks.

Beware of a Goldenacre guy bearing gifts is, I am told, a fairly safe approach for any well brought-up Edinburgh girl to follow. Heriot's, I gather, are having problems of their own with one particular lady – who runs the school, and who is, I understand, not 100% convince by their franchise plans.

THE FIRST time I saw Joe Marler play, I immediately thought: “arsehole.” This was in a Harlequins v Glasgow pre-season friendly some years ago. Early-on in the game, he took a cheap shot at Gordy Reid, who immediately replied in kind, and with interest.

Joe Marler - he will not be missed

Marler spent the remainder of his time on the park, conspicuously staying out of big Gordy's way. He came across as a bully of the worst kind that day. Now he has ended his England career, citing his desire to spend more time with his family.

That's the usual cop-out for Tory cabinet ministers, caught with their hand up a secretary's skirt (or more often with the Tories, down a fay young man's trousers). I do not think Mr Marler will be missed. He's the kind of England forward who would, to use Fin Calder's memorable phrase: “Be nane the waur o' a guid shoein'.” Jason Leonard he aint.