At Last, Something To Comment ON

NOT BEING into publishing rumour and innuendo much, I thought I would haud ma wheesht concerning Scottish Rugby, until after part one of the 2020 SRU AGM.

That having passed quietly yesterday morning, I can now get back to the blogging front line. As I thought they might, the cautiously conservative leaders of our clubs baulked somewhat at the thought of having two mavericks at the head of the organisation.

 

Ian Barr - confirmed as SRU President

Ian Barr, they think they could handle, ditto Keith Wallace; but, Ian as President, with Keith as VP – that was always going to be a hard sell. Therefore, I was not overly-surprised when Colin Rigby, who it has to be acknowledged, was the Establishment's preferred candidate, got the nod, albeit by a narrow majority.

Elsewhere, Gerry Tosh, Eric Hugh, Bobby Frazer and Jim O'Neill had their Council places, as representatives of their various constituencies, confirmed. So, we have a somewhat change Council going forward, it will be interesting to see how big a change this proves to be.

David Barnes, in The Offside Line, called the virtual AGM: “a box-ticking exercise,” which is a good summing-up. The fireworks, which we gentlemen of the press always hope for at such meetings, will probably come in part two – whenever that is held.

But, for the moment, the new Council has some weeks in which to get acquainted and to settle down to what is going to be a very hard road in getting the game anywhere near back to “normal,” whatever the new normal might be.

I happily watched the return of Gallagher Premiership rugby, on BT Sport on Friday night, and again yesterday. I fear, however, I might not see, real live, real rugby – at club level, much before the spring of next year.

Good to see James Lang starting for Harlequins on Friday night; and to have confirmed, the long break has not allowed common sense of intelligence to bore through into Joe Marler's head. How I long for some English referee adopting the George Murray approach to dealing with Marler.

For those who don't know the story, Kelso referee Murray's penultimate act as a referee was to penalise Langholm's Cyril Johnstone. When the bold Johnstone enquired: “What was that for George?” he was told: “For 20 years of cheek from you Cyril.”

Just a suggestion Wayne Barnes.

Good too, to see Stuart Hogg showing his class with a scintillating try for Exeter; to see Jonny Gray making an immediate impact, and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne producing a crisp cameo off the bench in the same Exeter v Leicester match, where Matt Scott had a good first outing for the visitors.

Lesser-known Scots, Calum Hunter-Hill, for Saracens, and Jake Kerr, for Leicester, also showed up well in the games – there is certainly a lot of Scottish interest nowadays in England's top flight.

But, the talking point so far – and I write before the Sunday games – has been the high number of penalties awarded, mostly at the breakdown, which is being refereed (at last) according to the Laws.

It will take a week or two for things to settle down, but, either the clubs will kick-up such a stink in the corridors of power, that the referees are “encouraged” to back off; the coaches will work-out new means of bending the Laws, or, least likely – the players learn sense. Time will tell.

I am still not sure if I am entirely happy with the artificial crowd noises, but, fair play to the guys putting those tapes together, they are doing a great job.

THERE is an interesting wee piece available on line, on the Welsh Dai-Sport site, about Ieuan Evans' efforts to get onto the WRU Council. Seemingly, when it comes to electoral jiggery-pokery, the Murrayfield Junta could perhaps take lessons in smoke and mirror manipulation from the boyos in Cardiff.

I am increasingly coming to the conclusion, rugby, going forward, will see greater diversion in governance and even I would suggest, in the Laws, between the professional elite level game and the grass roots community game – with also sorts of bothers and concerns around the part of the game which is a bridge between the two.

Sadly, very few people appear to be addressing this, and, the storm is coming.

I could not post this offering, without noting the passinglast weekend of the great Iain Laughland, one of the stars of the Scotland teams I watched as a schoolboy.

 

Iain Laughland with the Calcutta Cup, after captaining Scotland to

a 6-3 victory, at Murrayfield, in 1966 

Iain, a Merchistonian, was London Scottish through and through, serving the club as player and administrator over more than half a century. He played for and captained Scotland, and became President of the SRU.

He was a giant of our game, who will be sadly missed.

Another Scot passed recently, who had a profound effect on the game. He was Jim Blair, a Glaswegian graduate of the Scottish School of Physical Education at Jordanhill College, who emigrated to New Zealand, where his fitness drills are credited with helping the All Blacks win the 1987 Rugby World Cup; and were quickly copied by every other country.

The SRU even invited him home in 1990, where he gave several master classes on his fitness plans, which were well-received by those lucky enough to be in attendance.

Big hitters in New Zealand, such as former AB's coach John Hart and the legend that is Grant Fox, were fulsome in their tributes to Jim who died, aged 84, after a battle with Dementia, at his daughter's home on Australia's Gold Coast.