Yes, Perhaps You Win Nothing With Kids, But, You Still Have To Allow Them To Show What They Can Do

FOR A long time now, many within the Scottish Rugby family have been critical of BT Murrayfield's handling of out best young talent. I am firmly within that camp. Put simply, the way BTM has appeared to mis-handle our brightest and best young talent has been a constant source of annoyance to many within the game.

So, how well have we done? I suppose, how you answer that depends on where you are coming from, and it certainly is not easy to measure how well we have done, or not done. For instance, it is relatively easy to get data concerning Glasgow, but the same information regarding Edinburgh appears to be a state secret.

Any way I have had a look at how we have done since the game went open in 1995, and here's what I have found out.

I have looked-up the names of our Under-21 caps between season 1996-97 and season 2005-06. Traced as many as I can as having signed for our professional sides, or for professional sides elsewhere, and logged those who went on to become internationalists and British Lions.

I then did the same for the Under-20 teams from season 2006-07 until season 2019-20.

Unfortunately, I cannot find complete data on how-many – or in most cases, how-few games our younger players get with the professional sides. The Edinburgh figures are particularly difficult to find, while Glasgow's figures are a lot easier.

Therefore, the data is incomplete, but, hopefully my figures are sufficiently complete as to help give a clearer picture of just how difficult it is for a Scottish age group graduate to break through.

Under-21s

Season	Players	Went pro	Glasgow	Edinburgh	Borders	E.where	Scot caps	Lions	Other caps
1995-6	29	13	8	4		1	5	1
1996-7	24	6	4	2			3
1997-8	15	5	3	2			4	1
1998-9	28	17	13	1	1	2	6	2
1999-2000	10	8	4		1	3	2
2000-1	16	6	2	3		1	3
2001-2	25	11	3	4	2	2	8	1	1
2002-3	19	13	6	4	3
2003-4	30	8	3	2	2	1	3	1
2004-5	22	12	7	4		1	6	1
2005-6	18	5	2	2	1		5	1
Totals	236	104	55	28	10	11	45	8	1

Under-20s

Season	Players	Went pro	Glasgow	Edinburgh	Borders	E.where	Scot caps	Lions	Other caps
2006-7	29	7	2	2	2	1	3
2007-8	34	6	5	1			4	1
2008-9	25	11	7	4			9
2009-10	24	10	2	5		3	5		1
2010-11	30	8	4	3		1	4	1
2011-12	25	15	9	3		3	6	1	1
2012-13	21	9	6	3			5
2013-14	27	13	3	6		4	5
2014-15	19	8	5	1		2	3
2015-16	25	11	6	4		1	3
2016-17	26	8	5	2		1	1
2017-18	31	7	3	3		1
2018-19	28	7	1	4		2
2019-20	17	1		1

Totals

361

121

58

42

2

19

47

3

2

Overall figures

U-21s	236	104	55	28	10	11	45	8	1
U-20s	361	121	58	42	2	19	47	3	2
Total	597	224	113	70	12	30	92	11	3

Overall, 37.5% of our Under-21 or Under-20 internationalists went on to win a professional contract. The U-21 figures were 104 of 236 caps turned pro – 44%. After we went to U-20 the number winning professional contracts was 121 of 361 or 33.5%.

Of the 597 age group internationalists, 92 or 15% have gone on to win full caps. This includes the last three seasons' crops; of these 76 players, only 15, or just under 20% have gone on to win full professional contracts, so, perhaps a fairer figure would be the work out the percentage getting capped, from those age groups form which at least one trained-on to earn a full cap. Using these figures, we have a figure of 17.6% training-on to full cap status.

The above tables show 113 former age group caps having played for Glasgow. However, when transfers from other clubs are taken into account, actually 133 former Under-21 and Under-20 caps have worn a Glasgow shirt. Some have made one-off appearances, others have spent entire careers there. The full appearance list shows:

A total of 63 Under-21 caps playing for Glasgow, over a cumulative 3516 games across 247 seasons – giving each one an average of 3.9 seasons with the club and playing 56 games.

In all 70 Under-20 caps have been assigned to Glasgow, across 177 cumulative seasons – giving each one an average of 2.6 seasons with the club and playing 50.7 games.

The total numbers for the two age groups is 133 players, over 424 seasons – 7067 games – averaging out to 53.9 games, across 3.2 seasons, as the average Glasgow career for the best of our young players.

I have no way of proving or disproving this, but, it is “received wisdom” that Glasgow has long been more young player friendly than Edinburgh.

Of course, these figures are somewhat skewed by the likes of Rob Harley, Graeme Morrison and Pete Horne, guys who have each given a decade's service to the club – their massive number of appearances somewhat tilt the balance of appearances.

Better perhaps to dig a little deeper, where we learn.

Of the 63 Under-21 players picked-up by Glasgow:

1. 23 – or 36.5% only played between 0 and 5 games

2. 4 – or 6.2% played between 6 and 10 games

3. 2 – or 3.2% played between 11 and 20 games

4. 10 – or 15.9% played between 21 and 50 games

5. 12 – or 19.1% played between 51 and 100 games

6. 12 – or 19.1% played more than 100 games

Of the 70 Under-20 players picked-up by Glasgow:

1. 24 – or 34.3% only played between 0 and 5 games

2. 6 – or 8.6% played between 6 and 10 games

3. 5 – or 78.1% played between 11 and 20 games

4. 11 - or 15.7% played between 21 and 50 games

5. 13 – 18.6% played between 51 and 100 games

6. 10 – or 14.3% played between 100 and 200 games

7. 1 – one player, Rob Harley, has played over 200 games (1.4%)

 

By “playing games” I have included appearances off the bench.

In an average season, Glasgow and Edinburgh each play around 30 games – the basic 22 game PRO14 regular season, plus their European pool games, with the occasional dip into the heady waters of play-offs in the PRO14 and the knock-out stages in Europe. Factor-in international calls and each player will play around half the games, either starting or off the bench.

Using this as a benchmark, roughly half of the age group caps picked-up by the professional clubs only take the field over two or three seasons, then they either leave or are discarded.

And, let's not forget – only 37.5% of the players capped at U-21 or U-20 level since 1996 have earned a full professional contract, including the 5%, (30 players), who were picked up by English or French clubs.

Now, if these figures do not show that something is awry with our elite young player development system in Scotland, and that something has been awry for a long time – then I do not know what does.

We can surely do better in bringing through and creating a career path in rugby for our best young players, indeed, we need to. Maybe then, the SRU would not be as-addicted to importing young players, or worse still seasoned journeymen from the southern hemisphere.