Time For Some Of The Rebels To Get Real

APPARENTLY, I have “sold out” and become Super-6's biggest cheer-leader; I am now in the pay of the SRU (I wish); and I have also committed several other crimes against Scottish Rugby, or more-correctly, the Aye Been tendancy in the game. So, can we settle one or two things:

• Super-6 is happening. That battle is over.
  
  
• IF the Super-6 clubs do try to recruit from surrounding clubs, for their “amateur” sides; they are more-likely to be going after promising young players than established first team players with that lower club.
  
  
• Movement between the Super-6 clubs and the rest will be a two-way street.
  
  
• Perhaps not immediately, but, certainly within the next five to ten years, you will see clubs wishing to enter the National Leagues and the Premiership being required to meet minimum standards of infrastructure.
  
  
• The Establishment “won” a last week's SGM, and some of the “Rebels” still have not stopped squealing: Don't get mad – get even is always a good plan in such circumstances.
  
  
• The Rebels can always have another go, at the AGM, but, I would suggest, second time around, they prepare and fight better than they did last week.
  
  
  
  Gavin MacColl QC - paid to win cases, not friends
  
  
  
  
• The way some of the Establishment behaved, I have seen Robert Howat and Gavin MacColl QC coming in for some criticism. Come on, those two are lawyers – a breed with a tendancy to think they are smarter than the rest of us. And MacColl is an advocate, he's paid to win cases, not win friends.
  
  
• Internal squabbles are part of life for every national sporting body. Forcing through change is never easy, since the Establishment in each body sets the rules and laws down the laws of engagement when change is threatened.
  
  
• This means, if you want to change things, you have to work smarter (and harder) than the Establishment.
  
  
• Speaking of Murrayfield acions to get annoyed about. Never mind last week's SGM, it's in the past – get worked-up about this suggestion of the SRU taking some £750,000 of OUR money – that's potential funding for your club and mine, and spending it on an American rugby club that has yet to play a game.
  
  
• Now that is something to get upset about.

I SEE yesterday's outbreak of English Exceptionalism – the RFU reportedly being totally agin World Rugby's plans for this World League: because England feared relegation from the Six Naions – has been booted into touch by Steve Tew, the big boss of New Zealand Rugby.

Perhaps World Rugby should exempt the RFU in the northern hemisphere, and the NZRU in the southern, from the normal rules of the proposed World League. They do this because, England is the nation everyone wants to beat, so, as “the Common Enemy,” they have to be in there in the north.

New Zealand, as the benchmark for excellence has to be in the top-flight in the south, so everyone else has something to measure themselves against. But, I don't see either argument washing.

I reckon old Nigel Melville's comments, and Nigel is, after only, only temporary CEO of the RFU, are just another example of English Exceptionalism, being picked-up by the compliant London media.

We're in the age of professionalism, if the money from the World league shouts loudly enough, the RFU will sign -up.

THEY DON'T LIKE my old mucker Stephen Jones in New Zealand, or in Australia, or South Africa – and even in some parts of his native Wales; but the bold Jonesie, known for the duration of this item as: 'Jones the Hack,' to differentiate him from another of that eclan, doesn't give a toss about popularity competitions.

'Jones the Hack' - a brilliant put-down of 'Jones the Twat'

But, he has earned Brownie Points in Auckland, Wellington and points south this week, with a brilliant tweet about another Jones – Eddie of that ilk, referred to here as: 'Jones the Twat.'

'Jones the Twat' has, apparently, ruled himself out of being the next Lions' coach, because he doesn't apparently fancy eight weeks in a blazer being a diplomat.

This “news” brought a wonderful twitter response from 'Jones the Hack,' who tweeted:

“Eddie's ruled himself out of a job he wasn't going to be asked to do anyway - that's some connundrum, even by Eddie's standards.

On that basis, I can confirm I'm ruling myself out of the job as the next Pope.”

I also liked, although it wasn't as good a reposte, the tweet from BBC Scotland's rent-a-quote, Tom English, which read:

“This is like a wee 59-year old guy ruling himself out of a night of passion with Beyoncé.”

THE ROW about recruitment of promising schoolboys to some of the leading rugby-playing schools in New Zealand is rumbling on. Earlier this year St Kenigern's (the other name by the way for St Mungo, the patron saint of Glasgow) Auckland, was told by another ten of the top-ranked A1 schools in the Auckland area that they would not play them, because: whereas the other ten schools had only driven a D8 bulldozer through the recruitment rules, St Kent's had apparently used the larger D11.

But, peace has broken-out, St Kent's has agreed not to use the dubiously-recruited players for the opening six rounds of his season's competition, while the two boys considered to be the worst cases of rules violation, will not be playing in the semi-final and final, should St Kent's get there.

I wonder how this news might affect one or two of Scotland's leading rugby-playing schools, who have been accused of being rather too-free and easy when it comes to offering scholarships to promising young players.

RUGBY FORWARDS are sometimes referred to as: “piano shifters,” while backs are “piano players.” The Edinburgh forwards might find themselves, in the near future, getting-in some genuine practice, if not in shiting pianos, but maybe furniture.

Douglas Struth - picture courtesy of SNS/Scottish Rugby

I mention this because Douglas Struth, currently Head of Legal with the SRU, has oday been announced as the new Managing Director of Edinburgh Rugby.

I have never met Douglas, but, from the brief CV which is on this morning's announcement of his new role, I would say he has a chance of being a successful MD.

But, his new job gives Richard Cockerill a great chance to get his pack working as one, moving all Douglas's stuff – his desk, personal files and so on, from his current office to his new one. Then there will be the need to get whoever replaces him as Head of Legal installed.

One thing I will say for the SRU, if you can get onto their gravy train, you get looked after. When it comes to re-arranging deck chairs, Murrayfield could give the White Star Line, owners of the Titanic, lessons in how to do it.