Filling The No News Void

I HAVE long held that the so-called “stars” of this daft sports-writing game of ours in Scotland – the “fans with lap tops” whose by-lines adorn the back pages of our imploding main stream media outlets and who inhabit the "Golden Triangle: (Celtic Park, Hampden, Ibrox), are at their best in the close season, when, with no actual news to report, they are free to make-up all sorts of wild rumours as to who will be the latst foreign mercenary to be photographed kissing the badge for one or other of the twin cheeks of Scottish fitba's erse.

If you move to a higher plane in this wide world of sports, it is also true that that national treasure: 'Test Match Special' is often at its best when rain stops play and the team are free to ruminate on all sorts of different subjects to fill otherwise “dead air time” .

Sadly for me and the other Old Farts in rugby-writing, being opinionated bar stewards by nature, we have seldom been given licence by the Murrayfield Mandarins to think too much about where the game is going. They used to give permission for the likes of Bill McLaren, Bill McMurtrie, Norman Mair and Brian Meek to think deeply on the game. Alan Massie's Saturday column in The Hootsmon was required reading, but elsewhere, since John Beattie figuratively trampled on Murrayfield sensibilities once too-often in his Herald column, HQ began to play hard ball and over-trenchant opinion pieces have all but vanished from popular discourse up here.

Fortunately, there is still that Daft Old Bugger, sitting in his cave in the foothills of East Ayrshire, who is prepared to wade-in where others fear to tread, so here goes.

Media debate as to whether or not Gregor Townsend should have his contract as Scotland Had Coach renewed probably sits well with John McGuigan, Colin Rigby and the other decision-makers in EH12. Because, if we are obsessing about whether or not Toony is still the man to lead us into Rugby World Cup 2027, then it leaves them free to concentrate on the bigger picture – which “Three Musketeers” are they going to bring in to fill the vacancies for:

• A Chief Executive

• A Chief financial Officer

• A Director of Rugby

We have something like 30 internationals to play in the three and a half years between now and the start of the next World Cup campaign, surely plenty of time to find and bed-in a new coach, should either the SRU or Townsend, or both, decide he should not carry-on. We do not have anything like that time to fill the three big jobs, get the newcomers surveying what they have taken-on and putting in place the steps they want to take to improve the health of the organisation.

Speculation has been rife around perhaps promoting an insider to fill one or even all of the vacancies, with names such as Al Kellock being mentioned – or that of Jon Petrie, now he has left Ulster.

No harm to either gentleman, but, Glasgow Warriors and Ulster are subsidiaries of a larger body – in both cases their national union. Both are SMEs – that's a Small to Medium Enterprise, an organisation employing under 250 people and having a turnover of less than £50 million per annum.

The SRU is a large organisation, it is a National Governing Body – the skill-sets required to run that are somewhat different from the jobs they have been doing. The SRU has hired a “head-hunting” company to help them find the right person for cerrtainly the CEO vacancy and probably the CFO post as well. This is standard procedure in Big Business.

With regard to replacing Jim Mallinder, I quote from the published minutes of Scottish Rugby Limited's December board meeting: “Jim Mallinder, Director of Performance Rugby, had decided to step down from his role in the Summer of 2024. Discussions were underway to identify a suitable replacement.”

That meeting took place on Thursday, 14 December. This meant the SRU had six months' notice of Mallinder leaving. I write this in the last week of March, 15 weeks later. If we take 30 June as Mallinder's leaving date, that's 13 and a bit weeks away, so, the SRU has already used-up more than half of the available recruitment time.

I would expect they have made progress towards hiring the new man, however, in those 15 weeks, the vacancy has not appeared on the SRU's website, so, as used to be the case with being Tory Party leader, are the SRU consulting some sort of rugby “Magic Circle” to unearth someone suitable? Surely the clubs, who we are always told are the Union, deserve to know what is happening.

The SRU is a National Governing Body, it matters to the people of Scotland. It is not a Masonic Lodge, this secrecy and lack of communication does it no favours. OK, I can live with going down the Head Hunter route for the two non-rugby jobs, but, do we really need to be so-secretive around the DoR job?

Of course, if the SRU had a Communications Department which was fit for purpose, and somebody competent running it, the Scottish rugby press would be called-in and, without necessarily divulging names, fed wee tit-bits:

• We have consulted widely (the likes of Ian McGeechan and Jim Telfer have given us their opinions on the sort of person we might appoint

• There has been interest from across the world of rugby, with several big names showing interest

• Ideally we would like to appoint a Scot and have a couple of people in mind.

It is standard procedure in Football, for the press pack to be given at least “a wee steer” as to what is happening, if for no reason other than to prevent wilder speculation.

Regarding the CEO and CFO posts. The SRU has a good relationship with many of Scotland's biggest companies. While the SRU is classed as a “Large Company” - over 250 employees and a turnover in excess of £50 million pa, it is still a relatively-small operation.

I presume, theHead Hunters in seeking the new man have been speaking to the highest High Heid Yins at some of the Union's really big partners and sponsors, might one of these have a promising young executive who they would like to evaluate running a bigger operation on his or her own, to see how they do, and be willing to second or loan-out this person to the SRU for a period? It might quickly fill the vacancies.

I certainly hope the Head Hunters have been asking around among these same partners and sponsors, could they recommend any executives, from companies other than their own, who might be able to do a job for the Union. No stone should be left unturned in this search. But again, a semi-competent Communications Department would be briefing the press on what progress is being made and where the SRU is in its search.

FINALLY – Great to see Louise McMillan winning her 50^th ap for Scotland Women in Saturday's Guinness Women's Six Nations match v France, at The Hive. Her Dad, one of the stalwarts of the Birkmyre club, a Facebook friend of mine and a guy who deserves to enjoy the reflected glory of his lassie's achievement.