The Times They Are A Changin'

WHEN it comes to Ian Barr being a new broom, backed-up by several newcomers to the Council, and driving through the necessary changes to make the Scottish Rugby Union better, I remain a believer.

We will not see a Chinook landing on the big pitch at Murrayfield, to carry-off TCD and The Junta, while the massed ranks of Mosstroopers, Eckies (both Edinburgh and Glasgow), Weegies, Teuchters, Lowlanders, Sheep Shaggers and other interested parties are being held off at the gates, but, I do believe we are now at the end of the beginning of the professionals running professional rugby as their own little corner of the Empire.

 

 

The taxi for The Junta may take some time to get here

The successful passing of the Currie and Glasgow Hawks motions at last night's virtual AGM, part two, will hopefully be seen, by the embattled Junta this morning as a sign: “The natives are not only restless Carruthers; they're getting organised.” This is not good news for The Junta.

The passing of these two motions will surely convince any soft pedallers on President Barr's Governance Review Group (GRG), that they can be a wee bit more forceful in pushing for change – might is right, and they have the vast majority of the clubs behind them.

However, the clubs have great expectations of the Review Group – they want change, and big change. Managing those expectations will be a difficult line to tread – I wish them well.

The Junta is clearly going to have to change its ways. I do not intend going into too-great detail as to what I think needs doing. I feel big David Barnes did a sufficiently-thorough job on setting-out what needs doing, in his piece on The Offside Line prior to the AGM. Not for the first time in recent years, he hit the nail right on the head.

The days of mini-empire building within BTM need to end. For instance, as David pointed out, the SRU's staff roster had risen from 401 to 458 in the year to May 2020 – that's a rise of over 14%, in a year in which turnover fell from £61 million to £55.4 – a drop of just over 9%.

More-worryingly, the auditors – PriceWaterhouseCooper - in the words of TCD himself: “Have not yet signed off (the accounts) because they want to “test our assumptions and look beyond this current [financial] year, through to the beginning of 2022.”

I am confident the SRU is big enough to get over this speed bump, but, that is not a good look for a national institution.

The AGM has hopefully been a long-needed shot across the bow of a secretariat which has, for too-long, been seen as beyond the control of the people they are supposed to be working for – the clubs.

It will be some months yet before the GRG reports. What they come up with will be interesting, but, we can but hope, we see the changes which are required implemented.

For me that should include:

• Fewer paid executives and more elected representatives on the main Board.

• A truly Independent Chairman appointed.

• Some of the “broken arrows” within BTM finally binned.

• A leaner, fitter SRU arising from the ashes.

We have high expectations of Ian Barr and the group, now, go for it lads.