Peter Murchie Announces His "Cabinet"

PETER MURCHIE this morning broke his silence on events at his new home at the University of the West of Scotland's Craigie Campus, by revealing his backroom staff for the Ayr Super-6 franchise. And it's a case of mixing-up familiar faces with new ones, as he looks forward to the inaugural S6 campaign.

Peter Murchie - has unveiled his back-room team

Former Warriors and Scotland hooker Pat McArthur is the not unexpected choice as Forwards Coach, reprising the role he filled last season. Kiwi playmaker Frazier Climo, while continuing to play, will be acting as Skills Coach, as he begins the transition from playing to coaching.

Another familiar face on the bench will be veteran Dougie Stanley, who will again, as he has been for the past few years, Team Manager. Retired PE teacher Dougie, seen by many as: “the heart-beat of the club,” has been an Ayr stalwart as player and club official for over 50 years. He thought long and hard about stepping down after last season's league and cup double win, but now steps up from filling the same role with the Club 1^st XV, where another experienced Millbrae hand, Dave Courtney succeeds him.

My thanks to Police Scotland for this fine picture of 

Ayr Super-6 Team Manager Dougie Stanley -

the heart-beat of the club

Graham “Doc” Hollins will continue as Club Doctor, the role he has filled at the club since succeeding the long-serving Brian Scobie 12-years ago. Doc will have a newish physio with him in S6, with Jessica Alexander stepping out of the shadow of Helen Reid, who has started her own private practice, to become Head Physio, after four years as Number Two.

Another internal promotion sees Gordon Kotze relinquish his former role as Second XV Coach, for the new position of Logistics Manager, with special responsibilities for player communication with the S6 squad.

The new face around the Ayr franchise is that of Strength & Conditioning Coach Alex Boyle, whose CV includes spells with such diverse bodies as Sportscotland, Tennisscotland, the Scottish National Women's Football Team, and various Scotland Age Group rugby teams.

Murchie is happy with the back-room squad he has selected, saying: “Each individuyal brings their own strengths within their specific field. We have been working hard collectively for the start of the inaugural Super-6 season.”

SORRY Mikey Adamson, but, some might say, you are no longer Scotland's top referee, and that accolade has passed to Hollie Davidson.

The blonde bombshell is in the middle of a busy few weeks, having just been handed the following refereeing appointments:

• On 28 June, she was AR1 for the Women's Rugby Super Series match between England and USA in San Diego.
• On 2 July, Hollie had the whistle for New Zealand v USA, again in San Diego.
• In August, she jets off to Perth, Western Australia, to referee the meeting between the Australian and New Zealand Women's Xvs

Hollie Davidson - officially one of "The Leading Female Referees."

World Rugby specifically announced that the San Diego tournament would be refereed by “The leading female referees,” so, Hollie was in there along with the likes of Ireland's Joy Neville and England's Sara Cox, with only the top six referees rostered for the tournament.

THINGS just got as little more uncertain in the troubled world of Welsh Rugby. Cardiff Athletic Club, owners of Cardiff Arms Park, have this week issued a statutory demand for unpaid rent of £200,000 to PRO14 side Cardiff Blues, who now have 21 days in which to settle the bill, or be wound-up.

This is the latest chapter in the sorry tale of Welsh Regional Rugby. This year alone, Blues Chairman Peter Thomas has written-off £3,3 million debt, and converted a further £10 million to equity, while another Blues backer, Martin Ryan, wrote-off a further debt of just under £1 million.

These actions saw the club's debt drop from £15.75 million, to £4.16 million. When you read that, you perhaps appreciate, The Junta at Murrayfield has it easy.

And, as if things are not difficult enough in Wales, the news that The Dragons, who are wholly-owned by the WRU have been given an additional £300,000 in central funding, to help them buy experienced player cover during the World Cup, has gone down like a fart in a space suit, elsewhere in the Principality.

Ospreys are looking for additional funding from the WRU, as they negotiate a deal to keep Welsh captain Alun Wyn Jones with the region, now he is out of contract. Several English clubs, including big-spending Bristol Bears are keen to sign the talismanic Jones.

The rumour in Wales is that for a salary of £450,000, Jones would happily stay at the Liberty Stadium, however, Ospreys reckon, between the World Cup and the Six Nations, their captain would only be available to them for about ten games in the new season.

£45,000 per game – they could probably get Gareth Bale from Real Madrid for less.

We may well laugh up here, but, I am told, one of Edinburgh's overseas players, who spends more time on the bench than on the park, is on a salary of £300,000 per season – nice work if you can get it. Clearly, professional rugby has gone mad.

A weel-kent club official was speaking to me just this week, and he brought-up his disquiet at the way we appear to bring-in so many overseas players, not all of whom can be explained away as “Scottish-qualified” or “Project players.”

He wondered how much cash the SRU had squandered on these short-term signings.

I tried to find this out a year or so ago, but, while the data around Glasgow was relatively easy to get hold of, the Edinburgh figures appear to be a state secret.

What I could tell him was, your average Glasgow overseas signing in the past decade has spent 1.6 seasons with the club, and played 21.4 games, an average of 13 games per season.

The Edinburgh figures, I shudder to consider, considering we would have to take into account the Alan Solomons' reign, when the team was known as “Edinburgh Bokke” and the line-out codes were called in Afrikaans.

Glasgow's figures for Scottish Academy graduates are: an average career with the club of 3.6 seasons, playing an average of just over 40 games, at the rate of 11 games per season.