I FEAR fixing Scottish Rugby's problems will not be either a quick, or an easy job. It might be that our current travails are a passing phase, the problems exacerbated by events elsewhere – Covid etc. Or, it might well be things will get worse before they get better.
The more-obvious issues to be tackled appear to be around the Performance Department. Do we follow the football route and dump Gregor Townsend, since received wisdom is, it's easier to recruit one Head Coach than six or seven unhappy players? Or, do we even temporarily, dump the players who showed a distinct lack of common sense and discipline?
That's one for Jim Mallinder & Co, however, as the elected representatives of the clubs and the fans, it's up to Ian Barr and the Council and elected Board members to ensure, the Post-2022 Six Nations Debrief is thorough – particularly in respect of the Under-20 team.
Some of the feedback I've been getting on the shambolic state of the current status of our age group teams etc have really got me thinking. The fact is, progress between the ages of 11 and 18 is all-too-often cyclic. You can have a good crop one year, a poor one the next, the trick is evening out the ups and downs.
Thinking back to my own experience as a young player. My year team at school was a fairly-average one, we had one very-good player, the rest of us played for fun. Looking back 60-years, I left school in 1962, aged 15, I can list ten guys with whom I played at school, who transitioned to the local club.
The team the year below us, now, they were considered special – they were the best team in Ayrshire in their First, Second and Third Years, beating every other school. Yet, only four of them transitioned into the club.
This, of course, was before club-organised Mini and Midi Rugby, maybe had that been on-offer more might have remained in rugby. The system at our school was you played in years up to Third Year, in Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Years, we only ran two teams, a First XV and a Second XV. Some of that good team opted-out rather than play against the older boys, while others left at 15 for jobs.
Today, it appears, boys will play quite happily against their contemporaries, but, enthusiasm withers when they have to go out into the wider world and face more grown-up competition.
Might there be a case for promoting age group rugby at club level, up to perhaps Under-23? This, for instance, might encourage our University and College teams to play in the SRU system on a Saturday, as well as the midweek BUCS system.
At the moment, in club-organised Mini or Midi Rugby, we play games in year groupings, Primary 4 etc, then Under-13 to Under-18. Might there be a case for playing in weight bandings? Indeed, at club level, could there be a case for organising, as happens in New Zealand, a weight-banded category for adults, similar to the NZ Under-85 kg (roughly 13½ stone) competition?
I was introduced to rugby at school. When I later played for the local club, it was in the same team as the teacher who had taught me the basics and run the First Year team. Our PE teacher was a former Scotland player, albeit his nine “caps” were war-time and Victory ones. He had somehow persuaded the Rector that after Third Year, there would be no organised football, the boys had to play rugby.
The Scottish Schools Football Association famously claims: “We provide football for boys – not boys for football.” I think our PE teacher, and several others of his ilk across God's County, were keener on providing boys for rugby. So, what's it to be in schools – rugby for boys or boys for rugby?
My own feeling now is – use the schools programme to introduce the game to youngsters, but, direct the keen and the talented to their local club, whose remit is to turn that initial interest into a life-long passion for the game. To me, that's the way forward, but, we need to establish a system which works towards this end.
My own club has a nice example of this working, while, down the road at Marr College, they are also showing what is possible when the local club and school get together. Howe of Fife and Bell Baxter High School used to have a cracking co-operative scheme, which turned-up the likes of Pete and George Horne and Chris Fusaro, but, they became too-successful and the Public School chaps persuaded the SRU to change the rules to prevent them being shown-up again.
But, I admit, I might be wrong. There could be a case for a competitive schools system, however, if we go down this route, maybe the SRU should look at how other countries do things. Could we learn something from how they do it in New Zealand, or Australia, or even, closer to home, in Ireland?
One thing I feel we do need to do, is curb the influence of our big private schools, in particular their fondness for offering Sixth Year scholarships to the better boys at State schools.
Rob Baxter thinks there was “ambiguity” in play when Hoggy and Co. slipped out for a wee swally the other Saturday night. Let's see how much ambiguity he allows, the next time Hoggy shites in the nest when with Exeter.
FINALLY – I saw this on Facebook this week. I know I shouldn't. But, really – I like it:
I have to agree. I don’t think we’ve hit bottom yet either. Hopefully we have better days ahead.
ReplyDeleteYou raise some interesting ideas there AA
It’s unlikely an U23 league/tournament will work as we don’t have enough young men to fill teams. Maybe at an area level but that would take some coordination.
How about also dropping the one game a weekend nonsense while we are at it? Scotland being the only country that has thus ridiculous rule.
I fear it’s too late for the Unis. They are ensconced in BUCS and other than the odd Medics team, are lost to league rugby. Which is a great shame as they added a lot especially Edinburgh and St Andrews.
Sad to say but the Council are just told stuff. They don’t do much else. Indeed it’s arguable they don’t do much with the powers they have anyway. So I doubt much will come from any 6N debrief if they are involved at all.