Value For Money Is Important In Professional Rugby

FRIDAY night's FOSROC Super6 clash between Ayrshire Bulls and Stirling Wolves was another excellent advertisement for a level of rugby which, while the many stumble bums abroad in Scottish Rugby will never admit it, is a very-good way for the game to move forward.

But, reflecting on the match, I was left wondering about just one thing – how much are Glasgow Warriors paying Walter Fifita, and, can anyone at Scotstoun say they are getting value for money?

The big Tongan has barely featured for Warriors in the BKT United Rugby Championship; but, his appearances for Wolves in S6 have been decidedly underwhelming. Indeed, he has repeatedly been over-shadowed by the young Scots facing him. This was the case again on Friday, when Fifita turned in a display of errors, mishandling and a failure to make any impact.

You have to feel sorry for him, nothing seems to work – hence my disquiet of the second paragraph above.

Mind you, the way we are this season seeing more full-time Warriors and Edinburgh players featuring in S6 has, I feel, been the making of the competition. Aside from how good it is for the fringe professionals, or those players coming back from injury, to get competitive game time – it is also good for the S6 guys, to be able to measure themselves against the guys whose jobs they are after.

For instance: both Dunky Weir and Ross Thompson got their back lines moving well, at the same time giving their youthful replacements a benchmark to aim for. The way in which the arrival of Murphy Walker and big Lewis Bean helped the Wolves pack recover from a low key opening period also helped the match's entertainment level.

I again thought big Alex Samuel showed he is ready for greater involvement in the Warriors' match-day squad, and, I hope, whoever at Scotstoun decided not to convert Rory Jackson's Academy deal to a full one is having second thoughts.

Once again, Bulls' defensive work was a major factor in their victory. It is indeed rare for a side in S6 to keep a clean sheet, so kudos to the Bulls' and in particular their coaching staff, for managing this.

THE EARLY AFTERNOON meeting of Boroughmuir Bears and Watsonians went pretty-much how I expected it to – with the Bears falling to 'Sonians' second-half surge. It was, however, an entertaining game.

I wish I could write something about the final meeting of the week-end – between Heriot's and Southern Knights. Unfortunately,m thanks to the best efforts of Buddy the Elf and the ninety-five dwarves in the SRU Media Department, I was unable to watch the game.

For a start – look at the SRU website, and its FOSROC Super6 hub. There you find that the Saturday games will kick-off at 1pm and 5pm. But, if you look at the fixtures and results page – you find the second Saturday gaeme kicks-off at 4pm.

BBC Shortbread also had Saturday's second game kicking off at 4pm. So, at 4pm I logged-on to the SRU Website. Well, I tried to, but couldn't get the Heriot's v Southern Knights to fire-up.

I then tried the BBC Shortbread Sports website – no luck their either. I then tried the BBC iplayer where, success – I could watch a Heriot's v Southern Knights game, but, one from October 2021, rather than October 2022.

I appreciate an awful lot of people in the club game will be dancing in the streets if Super6 is abandoned, but, I didn't realise that included some SRU staffers, who ought to be supporting S6. Or is it, as I have long stressed – when you've got a quarter-wit at the head of the SRU Media Department, well, it stands to reason, that department – which does employ some good guys – is not fit for purpose.

Once again, the SRU's results service on Saturday, was operating at least a couple of hours behind alternatives. It's embarrassing and it's not good enough.

DUE TO the Sunday morning turmoil at Aristotle Towers, I didn't get to the Wales v Scotland Women's World Cup game until the 76^th minute – just in time to see the Welsh girl getting her yellow card.

Fair play to the girls, they took the chance offered by the card and grabbed an equalising try. I then honestly didn't expect Helen Nelson to kick the conversion, given she was 0 from 4 on the day.

She failed narrowly, but, to me, the crime was, the length of time she took over the kick. She, by my reckoning, had time to spare, but, she still took the kick and left time for a re-start. Success or failure didn't matter – she ought to have made sure the game could not restart, at least we had a point from the draw.

Then, when it did resume, we had the old, familiar story of a Scottish team failing to safely gather-in the re-start kick. Once we failed to secure the re-start, it was only a matter of how many phases would the Welsh go through, before they either scored from open play, or we gave them a kickable penalty?

Sure enough, after 20 phases, Wales got a penalty which they were never going to miss.

Why cannot Scottish teams see-out games they should?

FOR ME – Match of the Day in club rugby was the West Region Division One clash between leaders Stewartry and second-placed Cumnock at Greenlaw.

Stewartry carried the day – 20-7, to take a three-point lead at the top of the table. Obviously, with my long association with Cumnock, I was disappointed to see them lose, and drop to fifth in a highly-competitive division, but, I was delighted to see one of my favourite players – Scotland Club XV cap David Armstrong, (pictured below) back from his long career at Ayr to pull the strings for his original club from stand-off.

 Stewartry's current good run is delighting one of the great club stgalwarts – Director of Rugby John Muir, who was telling me of a long-term breeding programme they have going down there.

David Armstrong is married to Warrior's Stafford McDowall's sister. His half-back partner, wearing the number nine shirt, is Archie Nicholson, son of former Ayr and Glasgow nine George Nicholson, who is, like his father before him,m attracting the notice of Ayr. For the moment, however, young Archie is happy to play with his mates in Castle Douglas.