This Could Be PIsh, But, What If It's For Real?

RUGBY PASS and Rugby Onslaught are two Rugby Union websites who I keep expecting, in their desperate quest for clicmbait, to run with a headline; “Joe Marler ate my hamster,” or have a picture of the Saracens' team coach sitting in a lunar crater.

But, on the basis of a stopped clock being correct twice per day, might there be something in a post they put up over the weekend. Apparently, sources in South Africa are suggesting the United Rugby Championship could be setting up a second division – The United Rugby Shield is the name Rugby Pass is suggesting.

The point of their story was that such a competition might be a way back for The Cheetahs, one of the two South African teams who first got that nation into the URC, before they were demoted. OK, thingscan get a wee bit hectic in South African rugby, but, let's say there is mileage in this second division suggestion, the question is – who else gets to join?

Might we see sides from Europe's international second division: Spanish, Romanian, Russian, Georgian, Dutch or German sides? I cannot see additional Irish or Welsh sides. For Wales, the obvious expansion team would be in Nortyh Wales, but, I doubt the WRU has the money for the long-term financial support such a team would require.

What about Scotland? Might an expansion of the URC to include a second division be the catalyst for the third full-time team? Could the SRU afford it? Is the commitment there within BT Murrayfield to go for a third full-time team? Where would it play? So many questions, so few answers.

Received wisdom is, the best chance of a successful third Scottish team in the URC, lies with striking a deal with London Scottish. A URC team based in London is the organisation's high heid yins' wet dream – access to all that potential money. A drawing card for the huge exiles market there, what's not to like.

But, look at the potential drawbacks. What would the RFU make of it? Would Harlequins, London Irish and Saracens be comfortable with a rival league operating in their patch? Where would they play, supposing the SRU did go down the LS route? Where would the players come from? At the moment, the suggestion is, Scottish would struggle in Super6.

However, the crude fact is, professional sport has to keep expanding, or it fails, so the United Rugby Shield could happen. What would the Scottish dimension to it be? Questions, questions.

I FIND MYSELF compromised when it comes to Women's Rugby. I've got four daughters (and the mental scars from this). I've got one grand-daughter, aka The Student Princess, from whose backside the sun emerges every morning, and I suppose, had any of them shown any indication of wanting to play rugby, I'd have supported them. Yet, I have to admit, I am not entirely sure ours is a game for women. I mean, Femina Scotia – the Scotswoman, is a wild enough animal without encouraging her.

I do believe, if The Bruce had sent even 50 red-haired Weegie Women down to Carlisle on a hen weekend, or Lou Lou and Ayr Ladies down to play Carlisle Ladies, just as King Edward's army arrived there, the English nobles would have telt the king: “With respect Sire, but if these be the women of Scotland, we do not fancy taking-on their men, for verily, this lot doth scare us shitless.”

But, I digress. Women are playing our game, so, we have to give them all the support they need and, true equality means we have to help the women's game improve, expand and become as-important as the Men's. The question is, how best to do this to ensure a bright future for the women's game in Scotland.

We will never have the money which is available in England. So, we will never have the quantity of players they might have, so, as with Scotch Beef, Whisky food in general – we have to go down the quality road.

A look at the Scotland squad for the Women's Six Nations showed, the majority playing in the English top-flight – The Allianz Premier 15s. There are only ten clubs in this league, and only eight of them are the women's sides of the top Gallagher Premiership clubs. Bath, Leicester, London Irish, Newcastle Falcons and Northampton Saints don't have women's sides.

Might there be a way in, whereby the SRU could enter Edinburgh and Glasgow teams into the Premier 15s, staffing these teams with our international squad and our brightest6 youngsters? Sure, it would be expensive, but, you have to speculate to accumulate.

Alternatively, how about a Women's Super6, to “hot house” our best talent in a few clubs? The fact is, there's a lot of untapped potential for growth in women's rugby in Scotland. Go into the fixtures and results section of the SRU website, then go into club rugby.

The last time I counted, there were 140 clubs participating in the various National and Regional Men's leagues in Scotland. I checked the Women's league4s section of the website this morning, and could only find the following clubs –

Women's Premiership: Cartha-Queen's Park, Corstorphine, Heriot's Blues, Hillhead-Jordanhill, Stirling County, Watsonians.

Women's National League 1: Annan, Ayr, Broughton, Garioch, Howe of Fife, Stewartry, West of Scotland.

Regional League Clubs: Biggar, Dundee, Shetland.

I am sure other clubs offer women's rugby, but, there is no sign, on the SRU website, of women's teams from two of the Super6 – Southern Knights and Boroughmuir; all ten Premiership clubs, four National League 1 clubs; all 12 National League 2 clubs; seven National League 3 clubs. That's a lot of slack to be taken up and a lot of unfulfilled potential for growth.

And before I get irate messages from some of these clubs, yes, I know some of you have women's sides, they just do not appear to be playing that regularly – or is it that the SRU isn't giving the women's game the support they should?

To me, on the outside looking in, it appears women's rugby in Scotland is appraoching a fork in the road, if they take the correct road ahead, it will work out well, but, if they make the wrong decision as to where they are going and how they get there – as my dear old mate David Francey used to say: “Oh Dear! Tragedy! Disaster for Scotland.”