Bill Mata - Does Murrayfield Stick Or Twist?

THE REPORTED Bristol Bears interest in signing Bill Mata could provide an interesting conundrum for the bean counters inside EH12. The big Fijian Number Eight would certainly, in the short-term, be a big loss the fans will not be happy; however, he is now 32 and if not in the Autumn or Winter of his career, he's certainly in late Summer.

Moving now, while there is demand, makes sense for Bill. A big final contract will secure his future back in Fiji. But, deciding to stick or twist is a different matter for Edinburgh. I say, why not let him go? Another aspect to a move to Ashton Gate might be, down there, he would be competing for the first team jersey with oor ain, hame-grown Magnus Bradbury. So, why not a swap deal, perhaps with some financial compensation, and let's get another Scottish internationalist back playing in Scotland?

Or is that too uncomplicated a move for TCD and The Junta.

MEANWHILE this year's trio of recipients of the annual John Macphail Rugby Scholarship have been announced. The three Likely Lads are:

1. Joss Arnold - an 18-year-old second-row/flanker; his selection is timely, he is enjoying a gap year, after leaving Loretto, and the chance to play in South Africa and to spend five months in the High Performance Training Facility at Stellenbosch University is one he intends to make the most of. Joss began his rugby journey at Haddington RFC and he currently playing in the Musselburgh team which currently holds the Bill McLaren Shield.

2. Jack Craig – a 17-year-old centre three-quarter, Jack's rugby journey mirrors that of his half-brother, Great Britain Sevens player-coach Robbie Fergusson: youth rugby with Ayr/Wellington and a first-team debut with Ayr while still at school. Jack was a member of the victorious Scotland Sevens squad in the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago. He readily confesses to the help and inspiration which Robbie has been to him.

3. Ben White – an 18-year-old loose-head prop is a product of the Biggar club, although he did spend last season playing Under-18 rugby at Peebles. He is now back at Hartreemill and, given that establishment's history in producing Springbok props, he is looking forward to spending time at Stellenbosch.

The trio are the 17^th group to be recipients of a Macphail Scholarship and right from the first – a certain John Barclay in 2005, they have gone on to do well fro Scotland. Including Barclay, 8 of the 34 players chosen since that first year have gone on to win a full Scotland cap, the others, in order of receipt of the Macphail scholarship are: Kevin Bryce, Grant Gilchrist, George Turner, Jonny Gray, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Finn Russell and Adam Ashe.

So, this year's trio are following in some illustrious foot steps. I wish them well.

JUST a thought, and a wee reminder to whoever is in-charge of talent sourcing on the Scottish-Qualified team within The Junta, Gus Warr is currently keeping an England scrum-half on the bench at Sale Sharks; we appear to have something of a club crisis at nine.

Shouldn't somebody from Murrayfield be talking to him and his agent? He's only 24, now might be a good time to bring him home, assuming he will come.

SOME YEARS ago, covering an Ayr victory over Hawick, at Millbrae, in the Premiership, I was particularly struck by the displays of two of the beaten Greens' side.

It was my first sighting of the then teen-aged Darcy Graham, and, from the hum of expectation every time he touched the ball, not to mention the havoc he then proceeded to cause, it was clear, that young man was going places.

But, perhaps more-praise-worthy was the performance, in a pack coming off distinctly second-best of the Hawick skipper, one Bruce McNeil. No wonder Billy McHarg (allegedly) offered top money to get McNeill to switch to Ayr.

However, as McHarg reportedly later admitted: “We couldn't match what Hawick were paying him.” That's the legend, any way, I do remember writing that, at a time when the famous club was struggling, McNeil gave a performance which should have him ranked alongside some of the most-famous of the many capped Hawick back rowers.

So, I was delighted to see the same McNeil, now aged 40, still producing the goods for his current club, Kelso – where he is now Player-Coach – in their win at Selkirk on Saturday; producing a performance good enough to get him into The Offside Line's Team of the week.

What's that old saying: “Form is transient – class is eternal.”

I AM delighted to see, following a few years working in, if not the real world, certainly outside the world of rugby reporting, former Scotsman Rugby Correspondent David Ferguson is back, lending his expertise to various websites about the game.

It is great to see such a talented chronicler of our sport back where all good journalists should be – outside the tent pishing in.

If you can get access, take a look at the interview he did recently with Bryan Redpath for Rugby Pass. I read it on Facebook, and can tell you, 'Basil' didn't miss his target and hit the wall with his criticism of the way the SRU handles elite young player development.

I would like to think The Junta would pay attention to this criticism, coming as it does from one of the legends of the Scottish game – but, from experience of how things work in EH12 – Ah hae ma doots.

SPEAKING OF Rugby Pass – another of their Facebook posts is a clip from the World Cup, of Uruguay scrum half Santiago Arata, giving away inches in height and stones in weight, but displaying perfect tackling technique to bring down the rampaging French flanker Sekou Macalou.

The clip demonstrates, you cannot run if your legs are taken from under you – perhaps we should ram it down the throat of our coaches – until the message gets through.