An Furrit Tho Ah Canna See - Ah Guess And Fear

I WAS shooting the breeze earlier this week, with someone who knows his way around the corridors of power inside BT Murrayfield, and he reckons, in one way, the High Heid Yins in there will not be too-upset at the Scotland Under-20 squad's poor performance in the Under-20 World Cup, in Argentina.

This post is being written prior to their final “must-win” 11^th - 12^th place play-off against Fiji. If Scotland lose, they will be relegated out of the top tier of play at that age group. But, even if they beat the Pacific Islanders, this will not go down well as a good performance by the Scots.

The guy I was speaking to, however, reckons this bad performance will be seized upon by some within Murrayfield as proof positive: “We were right to criticise the Tennent's Premiership (where the home-based players in the U-20 squad play their rugby week-in, week-out) as 'NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE.'”

I have no doubts, some of the “suits” will use this argument, however, they will be less-pleased with my contact's next viewpoint: “But, what does this poor performance say about our Academy system, the men who are running it, and a selection policy at age group level?”

To some of us watching, today, going to the “right” school appears to matter more than ability when it comes to getting into age group squads and onto the ladder which might eventually lead to a Scotland cap.

My mate firmly believes, if the six franchises in the new Super-Six competition, which is where most of the U-20 guys will be playing next season, get their acts together from the off, and hit the ground running, the current poor position can be turned around.

But, and this guy thinks S6 is a good idea, he warns: “ The six clubs will need to get their acts together, and have Academies of their own, which will have to include players from surrounding “feeder” clubs. The playing base at youth level will need to be broadened.

“We need to see the six franchises leading partnerships with local authorities and surrounding clubs, getting more youngsters playing, having them better coached and better-prepared for playing the game.”

The original prospectus for S6 spoke of the franchises being: “Beacons of excellence, driving-up standards locally;” if this does not happen, Scottish Rugby is doomed to suffering more disappointments like that in South America at the moment.

WE DON'T know for certain, but, I suspect the SRU was one of the Unions who kicked the proposals for the World Rugby Nations League into the long grass at this week's meeting.

Given they lost to both Italy and Georgia during the Under-20 World Cup, the future for Scotland is not exactly bright. Relegation out of the 6 Nations is a distinct possibility at this time, so, self-preservation has almost-certainly kicked in and TCD and the troops seem certain to be agin change.

But, this one has not been permanently parked. It will re-surface some day.

MY ATTENTION has been drawn to an item in Wales Online this week. This concerns the accounts of Ospreys. These, the latest to be published, going up to June, 2018, do not make for good reading:

• A £2.7 million loss in 2017-18

• £4.6 million of debt written-off, to produce a pre-tax profit of £1.85 million

• Current liabilities of just under £2 million

• Shareholder liabilities of just under £3.5 million

• Figures described as *unsustainable”

• The auditors voicing their “concerns” at the situation

• Warnings of “challenges ahead.”
  
  

I well accept, comparing professional rugby in Wales or England with the position in Scotland is a clear case of “apples and pears.” But, with the well-established history of losses and debts in the English game, and the equally well-established knowledge of the turmoil in Wales, how confident can we be in the underlying good financial health of the professional game up here?

The SRU hierarchy has made good use of “smoke and mirrors” to deflect the attention of the clubs – the main stakeholders – from the annual accounts. We honestly don't know how much it costs the Union to run Edinburgh and Glasgow each season, while the powers-that-be have become very good at dodging questions about the Union's finances.

Given how trust has broken down between Union and clubs over the past year, and following the disgraceful behaviour of some of the top table at the recent SGM, anti-hierarchy feelings are running wild and the word in the club bars is that, this year, the top table will not be so-easily able to quell any rising from the floor.

The Chinese got it right: we are living in “Interesting Times.”