Those Were The Days My Friend

YESTERDAY, I was speaking with an old rugby friend, Dougie Stanley, Team Manager of Ayrshire Bulls.

 

 

Ayrshire Bulls' Dougie Stanley
 

Dougie was telling me, he has been having a clear-out and he happened upon some old Ayr Rugby Club records. One such record was the official club report on season 1973-74, when Ayr were in Division Two of the then new Scottish Leagues.

In that season, the club's teams played the following fixtures:

• First XV - 36 games

• Second XV - 27 games

• A1 XV - 23 games

• A2 XV - 27 games

• Third XV - 24 games

• Miscellaneous 7 games

That's 144 game for five teams, across a season which began on 1 September, and finished on 30 April. These figures do not include outings at sevens, at a time when there was a complete and long-standing Glasgow District series of tournaments: off the top of my head: Allan Glen's, Glasgow University, Greenock Wanderers, Ayr, Glasgow Accies, Kilmarnock; while the club's lower XVs competed in such Sevens as the tournament at Dumfries, Wigtownshire, Ardrossan and Cumnock.

Ayr reached the final of the Glasgow & District Knock-Out Cup that season, losing to Jordanhill College, and the final of the Ayrshire Cup, losing to Kilmarnock. The Ai and A2 XVs also competed in the Ayrshire Junior Cup.

In season 2018-19, the last full season before Covid-19, Ayr's first team completed a league and cup double, but played a mere 23 games in the season. The second XV played a mere 18 Reserve League fixtures and the club's associate team Millbrae, withdrew from the West Regional League, Division Three, through its inability to raise a team.

So, in the last full season, Scotland's leading club side played a mere 28% of the fixtures they had played in the mid-seventies – that is some fall-off in playing numbers.

In 1974, we didn't have replacements, so that meant on most weeks of the season, with Ayr fielding five XVs, they had 75 guys, kitted-out in pink and black, on various parks. Last season, which of course was incomplete, if Ayrshire Bulls were playing, they had three XVs – Bulls, Ayr Club XV and Ayr-Millbrae in the Reserve Leagues. That's 45 starters, plus maybe a further 15 replacements across the three sides – 60 players.

However, the Bulls only played a total of 13 games last season, the Ayr Club XV played 21 games and the Ayr-Millbrae XV in the West Reserve Leagues only played 14 games – a total of 48 games across the club – or one-third of the 1974 club fixture load.

So, while player numbers have decreased by only one-fifth in the 46 years we are looking at, games played have fallen by two-thirds. And, in counting our 60 players, some only got a few minutes game time, now and again. This has to be worrying.

As a wee aside to this: I was covering Ayr for one of the local papers back then, and from my records I note, in season 1971-72, the first XV played a total of 41 games, with tight-head prop John Burston, who was a Glasgow District player, playing every minute of every match. And we praise Zander Fagerson if he's on the park for longer than an hour of any game.

I doubt if we will ever get back to that 1974 level of playing games.

Some thoughts carrying-on from the above:

THE problem, as I see it, is the paid officials within the Murrayfield Junta, are not really interested in the grass-roots. Grass-roots rugby costs them, and it does not bring-in the big money. The big money comes from the Scotland international side. The paid officials need to have the national side filling BT Murrayfield on a minimum of five Saturdays in the year (three Autumn Internationals plus the minimum two home Six Nations game).

The cash generated from these five games – via gate money, TV money and the profit from the corporate hospitality and public food and drink sales is what feeds their families and their massive egos.

That money also underwrites the losses they make on running the Age Group national sides, the two loss-making full-time professional teams (I know, we don't actually know if Edinburgh and Glasgow are loss-making, but, would anyone like to bet that they make money?) Thought not.

What is left over, filters down to the grass-roots club game, via Sheila Begbie's Rugby Development department.

I sense there is a mind-set within Murrayfield, a feeling: “Let's not try too hard to increase playing numbers. Let's try to get the kids playing up to age 18, after that, the really keen will carry-on, but, let's hope the not-so-good and the not-so-keen will happily switch over to being spectators, watching Scotland, Glasgow and Edinburgh and spending their money on us.”

I hope I am wrong, but, I have a feeling, that might be what they mean by “Fewer but stronger.” Fewer players, but stronger finances – since, with The Junta, it all comes down to the bottom line.

Sadly, I fear, the longer the shut-down goes on, the more the less-keen and motivated club players will drift away. The SRU will have some difficult choices to make, and some hard yards to plough if we are not to end up with a professional and semi-professional top crust to the game, and very little filling in the main part of the pie – the club game.

I fear a few smaller clubs will fold due to lack of numbers, while some of the mid-level clubs will find themselves in serious financial trouble, if they have much longer to endure lower bar income and a lack of inter-action with their membership.

I know, there is not much they can say at Murrayfield just now. I also know, the elected and paid officials are having a lot of meetings and working hard to be able to hit the ground running when the restrictions are lifted. I also know, when that happens is out of their hands, but, increasingly, unrest is growing, because they are not offering information or even inspiration.

Come on guys – give us something to cling to.