The Bullshit Wasn't Just At Bridgehaugh

THE WEEK-END which just passed was not my best. Ayrshire Bulls played absolute mince in losing to Stirling county on Saturday afternoon. Take nothing away from County, they took their chances and deserved to triumph, but, I reckon Bulls made more unforced and costly errors in that single match than they have in all matches since the very start of S6.

I am struggling to work-out the thinking within the SRU's Performance Department around the Super6 Sprint Series. Is it simply a short, sharp event to keep the players up to speed? Or is it part of the long-term player development programme – a means whereby younger players who have shone in the club game are given an opportunity to show what they can do against a higher calibre of opponent?

I sense, at least two of the six teams are in it to win it – and prepared to throw a lot of money at it to achieve this end, while the other four are more-inclined to look on S6 as a development tier.

I certainly don't have a problem with fringe full-time professionals from Edinburgh and Glasgow playing in S6. If, as we have been told by Murrayfield, it's a bridging tier between the club game and the professional one, then it makes sense to allow the players coming up to test themselves agains players temporarily coming down a level.

We need, I feel, tighter eligibility rules in place, to make for a more-even playing field, but, we should never forget, S6 is a work in progress and it may well be towards the end of the initial five-year plan, before we get things sorted out completely.

EDINBURGH might have to win the European Challenge Cup if they are to play in the Heineken Champions Cup next season. Qualification is so-tight, that has to be an option for the capital side.

Eight United Rugby Championship sides will qualify for next season's tournament, and, as thngs stand, it's a case of eight from nine.

The four Shield winners (the top Irish, Welsh, South African and Scots-Italian sides) qualify automatically. At the moment these four teams are Leinster, DHL Stormers, Scarlets and Glasgow.

The remaining four places go to the next four teams in the table, currently Munster, Cell C Sharks, Ulster and Edinburgh.

Leinster's place seems fairly secure, but, with just four points separating second-placed Stormers, and ninth-placed Bulls, the final run-in is going to be tense. A final list of eight qualifiers which comprised three Irish sides, three South African, one Welsh and one Scottish is a distinct possibility – I can hear the howls from London and Cardiff already.

ASSUMING we still have four national leagues next season (Premiership and National 1, 2 and 3), we could be seeing two of the famous old Scottish clubs back on the national stage.

Royal High School FP have already won the East Regional League, to return to the national stage after a traumatic few years. They could be joined in National 3 next season by Allan Glen's. The Bishopbriggs club currently lie second in West Division One, one point behind Stewartry, but with two games in hand.

Two of Glen's remaining games are against bottom club Irvine, who really are struggling to put out a XV on a Saturday, so, it definitely looks like: advantage Glen's in the promotion race.

MY FAVOURITE rugby lady – Ayr's big Lou Lou McLauchlan is heading abck to Murrayfield, after her team reached the Final of the women's National Plate.

In this, they will play Biggar, on Saturday, 14 May. Now son Jamie has broken into the Ayr Club XV, I hear Lou Lou is considering retiring from playing. If so, she will be missed, but, I dare say she will still be seen in one of her many roles around Millbrae – as well as helping the Ayr Ladies squad maintain their reputation as the true descendants of Cutty Sark, when they go out en masse of an evening.

FINALLY – between the counter-attraction of the live streaming of the two Saturday FOSROC Super6 Sprint games on Saturday, and youngest grandson's tenth birthday party on Sunday – I didn't get my full weekend fix of the Gallagher Premiership. I did, however, get a row from Number Two Daughter; apparently kicking her sons' erses, after they used Papa for target practice with their bows and arrows does not fit-in with modern parenting.

A wee bit of controversy from the Harlequins v Leicester game, where some smart refereeing by Wayne Barnes kept Joe Marler on the park, when the world and his uncle were screaming for a red card.

Not so-much talked about, however, was another Barnes decision, when he pulled Ellis Genge and Wilko Louw out of one seemingly-eternal scrum and told them: “Sort yourselves out, or, you're both going off.”

Every scrum thereafter – perfect. Note to other referees, sort them out early doors, make it clear you mean it when you threaten yellow cards and, some of our scrummage problems would be over. We would still have to sort-out squint feeds and deliberately playing for penalties, but, it would be a start.