THIRTY-THREE scheduled matches in Scotland were not played on Saturday. Eleven were called off because of pitch issues, eight of the call-offs were down to Covid, one was down to transport issues, but the major cause of unplayed games, 13 call-offs in all, was “Insufficient players.”
That's 39% of the call-offs down to a lack of players. OK, if the conditions in this picture from Saturday's Aberdeen Grammar v Marr game were typical, I am surprised any games were played. Summer rugby anyone.
Eight of the 13 games off due to insufficient players – that's 61% - were lower XV fixtures. Looks to me as if the SRU should be paying serious attention to the new World Rugby law variations, which are aimed at getting more games played. Doing nothing, or blundering along as we are, these are not viable options.
DURING Saturday's Exeter v Saracens match, which I watched live on BT Sport, referee Luke Pearce, (pictured below) marched Sarries back 20 metres after Billy Vunipola took exception to being penalised. Pearce then laid down the law on back chat to the visitors.
Also on Saturday, in Durban, referee Jaco Peyper stopped the game between The Bulls and The Sharks to lay down the law to the respective hookers, Bismark du Plessis of The Bulls and Sharks' Bongi Mbonambi. He told them:
“Lads, I know you’re captain now [he said to Du Plessis]. The both of you, you speak to the officials at the moment, like you have no respect for us.
“It’s both of you. I know you’re big characters and good players, both Springboks, so please, come back to your values.”
I
fear, if the clubs don't get a grip on player indiscipline, it will
not be long before some referee [my money's on Wayne Barnes]
brandishes a yellow card at the dissenters.
FURTHER to my long-running campaign to have our full-time professional sides stopped from signing second and third-rate non-Scots and giving young Scots a chance.
It's not a statistic I have paid too-much attention to before, but, after hearing the BBC Wales commentary from Scotstoun last night, I did a bit of digging. Only THREE members of the 23-strong Warriors squad on Saturday night, that's 13% is actually from the Glasgow area. Amazingly, for a city famed for its aggressive wee men, these are the three biggest men in the squad – starting locks Rob Harley and Richie Gray, and replacement Kiran McDonald-Seran (pictured).
The break-down of the Glasgow team was: English-born (4), Edinburgh-born (4), Glasgow-born (3), New Zealand-born (3), Australian-born (2), South African-born (2), Argentinian-born (2), Ulster-born, Inverness-born, Dundee-born (1 each).
Am I alone in thinking that the fact Scotland's biggest Region, the one with the most clubs, has such a poor representation in it's own professional team, is a very-sad indictment of the SRU and its development of native Scottish players?
And while I am at it – Ollie Kebble back at loose-head. What has happened to the let's convert him to a tight-head project?
And finally on the subject of Warriors v Dragons; I return to the BBC online commentary, which came from BBC Wales.
OK, we know, if it isn't Rangers or Celtic, it isn't sport in the eyes of the high heid yins at BBC Shortbread. But, to completely ignore one of Scotland's top sports teams, playing at home, well, says it all.
Maybe the SRU should withdraw those corporate hospitality invitations which go out to the BBC Scotland big hitters during the Six Nations, and cut considerably the number of BBC “faces” who free-load at the same games. Tell them, when they ask where their invitations are: “You'll enjoy our hospitality when we start to get decent coverage.”
But, to get back to Saturday night. There was half an hour of virtually “dead air” - you could hear the Scotstoun public address system, then, two minutes before the kick-off, we got a run-down of the Dragons' team and changes, before a breathless announcement of the Glasgow team.
During the actual commentary, Glasgow were Glasgow, Dragons were “We” and “Us”. The final straw for me was, after his successful conversion had been the final act of the first half, Scotland internationalist ROSS THOMPSON was identified as the now depoarted South African BRANDON THOMSON.
At which point it was good night from me – and good night from a lot of other Warriors' fans I think.
However, if the Warrior Nation can thole the rabidly pro-Dragons commentary, they could always go into the BBC iplayer, navigate thei
Game on is already with us at Regional 2 and below AA so we can’t criticise Murrayfield for that one. But it’s a worrying development none the less. I’m not sure that clubs realise what game on principles can do for them hence the continued call offs. Because if those clubs couldn’t rustle up 10 players we are in seriously trouble.
ReplyDeleteThis leads to a broader question. How many of the alleged 11k players (2019 reference) are actually playing? The SRU know the answer to that question and many more on the player front but are strangely quiet about all that.