THE QUEUE of Welsh rugby legends, waiting to put the boot into the Welsh Rugby Union apparently stretches from the Welsh side of the Severn Crossing, all the way to the end of the motorway at Swansea. The Taffia are clearly unhappy at the state of the game in the Principality – and this isn't helped by their football team qualifying for the football World Cup in Qatar.
Having briefly dipped my toe into Welsh rugby while working there, I would say their problem is – the Welsh would rather get a kicking from an English club than from an Irish, Scottish, Italian and now a South African team. If the Gallagher Premiership was to offer places to the four Welsh Regions – they'd be gone from the United Rugby Championship in an instant.
They also have, as we do in Scotland, a bunch of backwoodsmen who want nothing to do with regional rugby and who still harbour the delusion that their club could, if given the chance, compete at club rugby's top table.
The trouble is, as the end-of-season URC awards have shown, the three home nations are going to have to up their game a lot, now the Saffers have got to grips with the URC. In order to compete with the South African sides, they can either, start recruiting even-more players from the Rainbow Nation, or, work harder on bringing their native talent up to South African standards.
If, as I suspect they will, the South African sides make big waves in the European competitions next season, well the decision-makers in the northern hemisphere unions have big choices to make, and they had better get them right.
HAVING lang syne attained the blessed status of Old Fartdom, I am allowed to begin declarations with: “In my day we.....” so, I am about to go there.
As I have frequently reminded you dear readers of this bilge, when I was a boy, the rugby season started on 1 September, then, rare Sevens dispensations aside, it ended on 30 April, thus giving us a 35 week season, leaving, as everyone who did O Grade Arithmetic will know, a 17 week close season.
The FOSROC SUPER6 SPRINT SERIES ends next weekend with the East v West game. This is a season which began on 30 July last year. They then played through until late October, closed down, resumed in mid-April and will close again next week. This means theirs has been a 45 week season. Not much difference then, except the breaks have made it seem much different. The next S6 season will start in August, in fact, the SRU issued the fixtures on Saturday. I feel the days of year-round rugby are upon us.
SPEAKING of S6, I see Heriot's have parted company with Head Coach Andrew Kelly this week – leaving Stuart Edwards and Fin Gillies to keep things going until a new appointment is made.
I honestly never felt Kelly and Heriot's was a good fit, while he has probably been guilty of being too-loyal to a group of players who were Premiership-grade at best. A massive rebuilding task awaits whoever gets the gig, I think.
The Nails certainly got a new coach bounce for their final game against a very-weakened Boroughmuir Bears, but, I feel a lot of good recruitment is called for in Edinburgh between now and August.
CONTINUING my crusade to upset certain denizens of Fortress Fullarton, by going on further about S6, I thought that was a cracking final last night, between Watsonians and Stirling County.
I felt for County, giving it their all into the red in an effort to get that title-winning bonus point, only to lose it to an interception try. But, well done Watsonians, who in the end deserved to take the Sprint Series title.
Interestingly, the two finalists did it without two of their main men, since neither Archie Russell of County or Michael Badenhorst of Watsonians featured in the Sprint Series.
Little time for rest, recovery and recruitment, as it will all resume in seven or eight weeks' time, when the full Autumn campaign kicks-off.
SO THE URC Grand Final will be an all-South African affair. Well done to the Bulls and the Stormers. The onus now is on the Irish, Scottish and Welsh sides to bounce back to become competitive, and for the Italians to keep improving.
If the three Celtic countries rise to the South African challenge, I think the Gallagher Premeirship clubs will soon be moaning, as they could be left behind, more-so given the way they are being forced to cut costs.
I fancy the South African sides will make big waves in the European competitions next season, how the media, particularly in England, reacts, could be fun.
SARACENS v Harlequins in the Gallagher Premiership semi-final was a real, old-fashioned cup tie. I appreciate, Owen Farrell and Maro Itoje are probably the least-likeable players in world rugby, but, you have to admit – they can play a bit.
That off-load by Farrell for Nick Tomkins' first-half try was something else, a wonderful piece of skill. And what a cameo off the bench from Sarries' Nick Isiekwe.
From a Scottish point of view, I think we now know why Sean Maitland is no longer a first-choice for Scotland. Given a head start and a clear field, he was cut down from behind by Marcus Smith. That is not international-class pace.
But, I know he's been brought back before, but preferred to return to Saracens in an assistant's role, but, might it be worth Glasgow Warrior's time finding-out how much it would cost to bring Kelly Brown back to Scotstoun as Head Coach – then paying the asking price?
The Leicester v Northampton tie was another cracker, with Rory Hutchison having a very-good game for the Saints. It should be quite a final.
FINALLY – Big David Barnes, the man who has turned rugby-writing in Scotland into a virtual one-man cottage industry, was unavailable for most of the past week or more. There was a cryptic text message: “Speak on Monday, tied-up with Hawick Common Riding all this week.”
Sources inside the Station Bar tell me Barney was last seen, tied to a chair inside The Hut, being fed rum and milk intravenously. I am concerned for his welfare, I mean, it's not as if a bearded six foot nine inch tall journalist is easy to hide in Hawick, far-less Scotland.
All I can say to the Big Man is: "Safe oot - safe in."
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