IS TOONY breathing a sigh of relief this morning? Probably not, being a guid Gala man he is fairly phlegmatic about life. However, given the abuse he has taken of late from us keyboard warriors – particularly in respect of his uneasy relationship with Scotland's most high-profile Mason – he might be thinking: “There but for the grace of God.”
Wayne Pivac, whose only crime was – he wasn't Warren Gatland, has been fired by Wales and replaced by – Warren Gatland.
We Scots might not be over-endowed with world-class talent, but, unlike the English and Welsh, we don't think we have a God-given right to win all the time. We know Toony, or whoever we hand the coaching job to, can only pish with the cocks he is given, so, we seldom get above ourselves.
Beat the shitier teams in the Six Nations – England, Italy and Wales, run the good teams – France and Ireland – close and find some way of leaving us saying: “If only”, as we exit the World Cup, and, we're reasonably happy. Other coaches have higher, more-unreasonable aspirations to meet.
KENNY MURRAY is building a formidable wee empire within the SRU Performance Department, with the addition of Fergus Pringle and Scott Forrest to his Under-20 Management Team.
We just might, finally, get out of the slough we've been in at that level for a year or two now – these guys certainly have the coaching talent to make a difference.
These new appointments will allow Shade Munro and Rob Chrystie to do the initial groundwork on young talent with Glasgow and Edinburgh. The improvement might not be instant, but, we live in hope of better to come.
WE ALL KNOW only too well, the toll professional rugby takes on players' bodies. The power generated in some of the collisions is difficult for the layman to imagine. The fact is, the modern game at elite level, asks an awful lot of the young men playing it – and the cost to them in their futures, even if (not that we dare) we exclude the potential harm to their brains.
A regular reader and friend of this blog today sent me a clip from an Australian publication, citing the horrendous injuries with which Dave Rennie and the Australian management team have been dealing. It was a very-thorough and interesting take on this, with, I feel lessons for us here in Scotland.
Apparently, the different approaches which the Australian franchises: Brumbies, Waratahs, Rebels, Reds and Western Force had to strength and conditioning meant problems when the Wallabies' management team made their demands. This, apparently was a factor in some of the player fitness break-downs.
Well, since our two professional sides are wholly=-owned subsidiaries of the SRU and they are meant to be a means of preparing our players for the international game, we should not have this problem = both sides should be singing from the same hymn sheet.
For your information, here is the link to the Australian story, it's worth reading:
https://www.theroar.com.au/2022/12/05/the-wrap-deep-tissue-analysis-of-the-wallabies-injury-toll-raises-more-questions-than-answers/
MEANWHILE, Wee Eddie Jones has been handed his jotters by the RFU, less than a year out from the next World Cup.
Steve Borthwick, on the back of his exploits with Leicester, appears to be The People's Choice for the next chapter of Mission Impossible – make English Rugby's achievements match their fans' expectations. Good luck to whoever gets the job, because, several of the favourite sons of England's fans and their media cheer-leaders are nowhere near as good as they think they are – and England will certainly not win the 2023 Six Nations or World Cup. Mind you, as he demonstrated at Edinburgh, Interim Head Coach Richard Cockerill is well-capable of overseeing the new coach bounce which might leave our southern neighbours feeling good about their team again.
The truth is – England Expects – Too Much.
THE PLACE where the burning issues of the day in Scottish Rugby are now discussed is in the BTL (Below the lines) Comments section of The Offside Line. Therein, at the moment, the natives are very-restless Carruthers.
The cause of their disquiet – the news that Chairman Jeffrey is set to have another three years on the gravy train, after he leaves office in the summer of 2023. This leaves us with the not-unknown, but uncommon situation of a former Chairman continuing to sit on the board which he recently led.
Now you have to admire the way The White Shark has continued to swim in the rich waters of international sporting governance; living high on the hog in the nutrients to be found there.
I don't blame him for being so difficult to shift. However, he's got some pretty-important jobs in World Rugby, where he, Lesley Thomson and the soon to retire Mark Dodson are our three representatives. It makes sense to keep JJ inside the tent and have him continue his work at World Rugby for a bit longer, until Dodson's replacement has had time to bed-in.
However, in the TOL comments, it seems a lot of people would like to see JJ stand down once he ceases to be Chairman. As ever – be careful what you wish for. There have been a lot of changes to The Ruling Junta of late, so maybe a period of calm while the newcomers get to grips with their briefs, will be welcome.
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