'CLUBFAN' is the most-regular BTL (below the line) contributor to this blog. I am aware of his identity and his club but will preserve his anonymity. I will say, I do feel, the Scottish Rugby Union's Club Board is one body which would benefit immensely, should Clubfan and I ever replace at least two current board members I will again refrain from naming.
Any way, yesterday, he challenged me thus:
“I like counter factuals like the best of them, so in the spirit of curiosity, what could have/should have happened to strengthen the Super approach?”
As Clubfan also pointed-out, one of the drivers for the setting-up of Super Rugby was Scott Johnson's assertion that The Premiership was not fit for purpose. Quite how the Lesser-Spotted Aussie – who we can now see as the human Rugby Union version of Aleksandr Orlov's Australian wombat cousin - arrived at that verdict has never been established – since there was no verified sighting of Johnson at a Premiership game.
TCD, Scott Johnson and "Howzat" spotted at a club match
We all know the in-built flaws in Super Rugby. Were these to be properly addressed, it could I am sure have a positive effect on the Scottish game going forward. I still find it interesting that in setting-up their new Elite Development Competition, The Welsh Rugby Union borrowed heavily from Super Rugby, not least by inviting clubs to tender for a franchise.
That leads me to accept, franchising in a good move, since the club taking-up the franchise, while getting support, financial and otherwise, from the governing body, is shouldering a lot of the financial risk, thereby saving the Union money.
It is accepted in the world of sports organisation and financing that the most-successful leagues are those where there is as level a playing field as possible, most-often achieved by invoking a CBA or Collective Bargaining Agreement. These are common in North American Sport, and in some sports in Australia. These agreements are sometimes complex but the major issues covered are:
Revenue sharing between teams and players
Salary caps and salary structures
Rules for transfers (trades), drafts, and free agency
Player discipline
Safety standards
Injury grievances
Health benefits
Certain issues are mandatory during the collective bargaining process, which means that owners and players must address them in negotiating an agreement. In general, mandatory issues involve salaries, hours, and work conditions. Among other things, owners and players will determine how many games will be played each season and whether player contracts are guaranteed by the league. They also must address base salaries, the process for transferring players, disciplinary measures, player grievances, medical benefits, retirement plans, and access to the personal files of players.
The SRU failed disasterously in not fully (or even partially) explaining the reasoning behind Super Rugby. They compounded their failure by deviating from the original concept of: “no more than two franchises in any one Region” when they caved-in to the self-interest of some “Establishment” clubs in Edinburgh.
But, for me, their biggest failure was in not making it clear from the start:
Super Rugby shall mainly be an Under-23 competition, at least 70% of each franchise's playing squad MUST be Under-23 and SCOTTISH-QUALIFIED.
Had they gone with those criteria – set in stone – it would have worked as a bridging tier between the club game and the professional one.
They could have and should have promoted and sold it better. They still could promote and sell Scottish Rugby better. If they get rid of one or two of the salary stealers inside Murrayfield who couldnae run a gird and prove this every day – one in particular.
When it was pointed-out to TCD and The Junta that there was zero enthusiasm from north of the Forth, for a franchise in either Aberdeen or Dundee or both, TCD bullishly suggeested the SRU would set-up such a frnachise themselves. Sadly, this was another in the many examples of Mancunian Bullshit we have had to put up with during his reign.
Given the success of Caledonia Region in last season's Inter-District Championship, it cannot be said that huge region is a talent-free zone. One or two franchises up there would, I am sure, have worked.
Super Rugby would also benefit from better and clearer player release agreements with the two professional clubs. It's all too hit and miss at the moment, seemingly dependant on the state of the pro team's coach's liver.
This has been an issue since the old Premiership draft, it ought to have been sorted-out long ago. One of the benefits of Super rugby should be, it allows players to measure themselves against the pros, this is a key issue with their development and needs proper regulation and management.
I would also like to see (as an experiment) a draft system for bringing younger talent into Super Rugby. This would work with the team finishing last getting first pick, and so on.
Also, I would like to see at least a Third full-time pro team. OK, wishful thinking, as received wisdom (not yet received by me) is that the SRU cannot afford a third pro team. I reckon they cannot afford NOT TO.
Better overall and in particular better financial management at Murrayfield could make this possible.
Then, if we stick with six clubs – we could have two linked to each pro side.
Wales has introduced the EDC, Ireland has the All-Ireland League, the English Championship clubs are looking for additional games. Ther was a suggestion of games against the top Italian club sides, below their two URC sides.
We therefore could and should have cross-border games, either in a recast British and Irish Cup, or in a sort of “Junior” URC. Cross-border play would do more than anything purely domestic in raising playing standards – as I have been told by several people with experience of the old B&I Cup.
So Clubfan – there you have it, in 1000 words – my vision for a better Super Rugby tier.
Why not have a Connacht style low cost Caledonian Reds Pro side based in Perth and playing alternative matches there , Aberdeen and Inverness ? We desperately need to create more game time at this level for the aspiring under 23 players and seasoned surplus players from the Super 6 and oversized Edinburgh and Glasgow squads as well as the talent in North and Midlands
ReplyDeleteIn the words of our pre match anthem " those days are past now and in the past they must remain " - lets move on from Super 6 and set up something that will unite rather than divide Scottish rugby .
ReplyDeleteWe need more challenging game time for the aspiring u 23 players and for the underutilised Glasgow and Edinburgh squads which are too big - there will also be some mature players from the Super 6 who could be Pro players and good performers from the end of season Inter District matches thus linking the best of the Premiership with the Pro level .
So 2 options - set up a Caledonian Reds based in Perth with home matches there and Aberdeen and Inverness
or have a Scottish Exiles side based at London Scottish , attracting players from outside of Scotland as well as surplus Pros and Interdistrict emerging stars - we would need to find a spot in the URC but financially this could pay off by attracting Welsh, Irish , Italian , SA rugby fans living in the South East . Both teams should be set up initially on the low cost Connacht model
Well laid out proposition AA. Congrats. I fully agree setting out those propositions and agreeing the “rules” at the start would have made a massive difference. Sadly our overlords at Murrayfield didn’t engage you in their thinking.
ReplyDeleteIt was obvious from the get go that there was neither a vision nor a plan. The make it up on our terms was the overriding principle. And it was Murrayfields terms. They dangled special relationships and cash in front of easily fooled clubs who wanted super status and f everyone else.
There is I think a deeper issue at play in Super 6 and it’s a microcosm of the broader game here in Scotland. As rugby players and fans we want to win things. That means the competitive streak is strong and can overpower more altruistic motives.
Would the Six have signed up for effectively an U23 tournament no matter how worthy? I doubt it. They had money on the line as well remember and were looking for some sort of return.
Your comment about a “franchise” north of the Forth is also interesting. Mainly as the likely targets - DHSFP and Aberdeen Grammar either didn’t bid or put in such a ridiculous bid they didn’t get passed the entry gate.
One of the insightful things Dundee noted when presenting their bid was they would struggle to get players given their location. A choice between say Edinburgh or Glasgow based teams or travelling to Dundee three times a week - what choice would you make?
We are talking about a max income of £12k and only a small group got that. So how that makes Suier rugby attractive beyond the Central belt is one of those hairy assed problems that are so difficult to solve.
“ It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” plays well here - Dodson, the Performance dept and the teams themselves were all trapped in this conundrum.
One thing Murrayfield are very bad at is listening to others. All these issues were flagged at the time but they and Dodson knew better. I expect if it hadn’t been the last few years of eye watering losses we would have kept S6. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.