The Parties Are Over, It's Back To Normality

THE ANNUAL midwinter feasting in honour of God and Mammon has passed, the hangovers have largely gone and we are back to the purrich and auld claes of a New Year.

Our pampered professionals with Edinburgh and Glasgow get back into action tomorrow, following the ecstasy and despair of the two 1872 Cup games, and, of course, both coaches have rung the changes.

Saturday's games do not, to the average fan, come that far-up the expectation fixture list. Indeed, to most Scottish fans, these should be “gimmees” - we expect our boys to win. However, all is not as it might seem.

Ryan Wilson - captains Glasgow in Treviso 

A Glasgow win against Benetton in Treviso is no longer the given it once was. The Italians are actually ahead of Edinburgh, lying third in Conference B of the PRO14, and very-definitely involved in the fight for play-off places in that Conference.

Also, after the disappointment of back-to-back losses against Edinburgh, and with an eye on the crucial Heineken Cup game against Cardiff a week from now, Dave Rennie has been forced to ring the changes, making no less than ten for the trip to Italy.

The team he has chosen, as-ever listed here in 1-23 order is:

Jamie Bhatti, Grant Stewart, Siua Halanukonuka, Tim Swinson, Scott Cummings, Ryan Wilson (Captain), Chris Fusaro, Adam Ashe; George Horne, Adam Hastings; Niko Matawalu, Sam Johnson, Stafford McDowell, Robbie Nairn; Ruairdh Jackson. Replacements: Kevin Bryce, Alex Allan, D’Arcy Rae, Rob Harley, Matt Smith; Nick Frisby, Brandon Thomson, Lee Jones.

Unavailable players: Fraser Brown (knee), Alex Dunbar (thigh), Zander Fagerson (ankle), Stuart Hogg (hip), Peter Horne (knee), Oli Kebble (chest), George Turner (ankle).

Beating Glasgow in both legs of the 1872 Cup certainly left Richard Cockerill and his men in good form at the Bells. Now, the coach will seek to see his men kick-on to greater things in 2019.

He too has rung the changes for Saturday's Murrayfield clash with the Southern Kings, naming the following squad, again in 1-23 order:

Rory Sutherland, David Cherry, Simon Berghan, Fraser McKenzie (Captain), Callum Hunter-Hill, Jamie Ritchie, Luke Crosbie, Viliame Mata; Nathan Fowles, Simon Hickey; Duhan van der Merwe, Juan Pablo Socino, George Taylor, Darcy Graham; Dougie Fife. Replacements: Ross Ford, Pierre Schoeman, Pietro Ceccarelli, Ben Toolis, Ally Miller, Charlie Shiel, Jaco van der Walt, James Johnstone.

Unavailable due to injury: Lewis Carmichael, John Barclay, Magnus Bradbury, Senitiki Nayalo, Luke Hamilton, Matt Scott, Mark Bennett, Chris Dean, Damien Hoyland.

The main talking point in the Glasgow selection is the return to the starting line-up of Sam Johnson, who takes the 12 jersey, with Stafford McDowell moving out to 13 to reprise his centre/wing combination with flat-mate Robbie Nairn which proved successful during Ayr's blistering start to the Tennent's Premiership campaign. If it can work in the PRO14, win, win for Glasgow.

Alex Allan is back from suspension and on the bench.

For Edinburgh, Fraser McKenzie returns from injury to lead the side, with Rory Sutherland starting at loose-head. Another to come in from a period in the cold is Dougie Fife, who starts at full-back, while there should be an Edinburgh debut, off the bench, for scrum-half Charlie Sheil.

 Joy Neville will take charge of Benetton v Glasgow

Irish lady Joy Neville will be on the whistle in Treviso; that appointment could be a test of captain Ryan Wilson's well-known diplomacy skills, while at Murrayfield, there is a split in the Celtic ranks – Mr Lacey has the whistle, with his fellow member of the Dublin refereeing “Murphyia” Johnny Erskine on one flag, with Scots Sam Grove-White on the other flag, and Andy McMenemy in the TV booth.

YESTERDAY'S post on what I would do to re-organise Scottish Rugby, not unexpectedly attracted a fair bit of interest. One or two btl comments took me to task for citing Scottish Football as perhaps offering some guidance to rugby in these turbulent times. Can I, in my defence, just say this?

I would never hold-up the SFA as an example to follow. I am told they don't have a cloak-room on the sixth floor at Hampden, the Area 51 of world football – where all the aliens and unexplained beings are parked. No, as you step onto the sixth floor, you are invited to deposit your brains and common sense in a box, lest intelligence and good sense contaminate the processes of the administrators who are closeted there.

No, don't take a lead from the SFA administrators, but, my point is, for all the many failings of the “suits”, the SFA system, whereby the various lower strata of the game look after their own area, for better or worse, leaving the high heid yins to fuck-up the game at professional level, would be a good model for the SRU to follow.

Tom Johnson and Iain McQueen of the SJFA are two good guys, but, believe me they have to deal on a daily basis with some right warmers, including the legendary “Lanarkshire Mafia”, some half a dozen administrators who have managed to hold back the old Central League clubs for years.

Ron Sutherland - has strong views on governance

I leave you with a couple of the btl comments, the first from that weel-kent Border Reiver Ron Sutherland, who wrote:

“AA - comparison with the Scottish football governance "model" (if indeed it may be so described) is likely to prove invidious for Scottish rugby.

Although some streamlining has occurred since I conducted a professional / academic review a number of years ago, prior to the McLeish exercise, the cluttered, overlapping and occasionally internally competitive footie governance set-up may still be viewed as no thing of beauty. Structurally fragmented, divided, lacking balance and administratively inefficient.....”

Fair point Ron, noted. However, another regular commenter, “Clubfan”, had this to say:

What is clear is that the current arrangements don’t work. Having closed shops of particular divisions speaking to themselves only drives self interest and obscures the bigger picture of the overall health of the game.

I agree with Ron that the actual structures in football are poor and shouldn’t be copied. But having a body that manages club rugby matters separate from the performance game makes sense. Indeed the SRU set up already does this. What oversight do the clubs have on international, pro and academies? Very little outside of asking questions at the age. The council also appear to be mute on these matters as well.

Super 6 sides have their own special relationship with the SRU so they are outside of the club game as well.

It’s quite possible to create structures that enable all clubs in an area/district/region to get together and also have sub groups that deal with matters pertaining to specific areas. For example it would make sense to have a continuing premiership forum as the pinnacle of the club game.”

I reckon this argument over governance will run for a good while yet.