SO THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES are to be held in Glasgow in 2026. All Scottish sports fans will welcome this news, but, a wee question – what will it mean for Rugby Union?
On the face of things and given what little we currentlyh know of the plans – it looks as if Rugby Sevens might be one of the sports jettisoned to meet the need for a scaled down Games. Early indications are that only four venues will be used: Scotstoun will host the Athletics – the main core sport; Tollcross Pool will host the Swimming – another of the core sports; The Chris Hoy Velodrome will host the Cycling – another of the core sports, leaving one other venue, such as the SEC Campus, to be nominated for the likes of Gymnastics, Badminton, Boxing, Netball and other sports.
And what about Lawn Bowls, another staple of the Commonwealth Games. Some of the lesser Commonwealth nations have a habit of doing well on the greens, so there is a case for that sport being among the ten selected.
The nomination of Scotstoun as the Athletics venue will certainly have a knock-on effect on Glasgow Warriors. For a start, the Scotstoun pitch is synthetic, as such it cannot be used for Athletics Field Events – Discus, Hammer, Javelin and Shot Putt, so, that's a problem to be solved. Might it mean a new pitch, suitable for use in Athletics, being laid, which would probably require Warriors to play elsewhere for a large part of Season 2025-26.
The Glasgow Games will almost-certainly be held in mid-to-late July – early August, but, should that main pitch require to be relaid, then it will be out of action for some time before then. Also, what happens after the Games? Will the athletics-friendly grass pitch be dug up and a new synthetic pitch laid down, or will the grass pitch be kept. Either way, there is a very-good chance of Warriors being inconvenienced for some time.
Looking at alternative scenario; there is one remaining grass pitch on the Scotstoun Campus, which could, at a pinch, be used for the four throwing events: but, there is not much room there where they might build temporary spectator stands, and that pitch is used by some university sides – so further disruption to Rugby Union.
Suppose Sevens is one of the jettisoned sports. I don't think that idea would go down too well with the likes of Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and South Africa. OK, it's a team sport, but, the Games overall would be greatly-diminished by a lack of team events.
Even allowing for the politics of the decisions on which sports remain IN and which go out, it would be sad if Sevens was missing from a Games, being held in the land which invented it.
Of more interest to the Rugby Union community in Glasgow and the West will be the inconvenience to Warriors. They go into season 2024-25 as BKT United Rugby Championship winners. If, and there is no reason to doub t they can, Warriors continue to compete at the sharp end of their league tickets for Scotstoun will continue to be sought-after. We expect to see the “House Full” signs going up regularly around Scotstoun.
There could well be one or two Warriors going to Australia with the British and Irish Lions in the Summer of 2025. Suppose they keep the feel-good feeling growing around the club and the ground into season 2025-26 – what would happen if and when they have to temporarily move-out to allow for the preparations for the Games?
Would the fanatics of “The Warrior Nation” fancy what might well be the SRU's preferred alternative, during the preparatory work for the Games – Warriors playing their home games at Edinburgh's Hive Stadium?
Might they prefer to do a temporary deal with a Glasgow football stadium – Partick Thistle's Firhill – Warriors' home before Scotstoun, or Queen's Park's Lesser Hampden?
Might they prefer to take the handful of home games they will almost-certainly have to take elsewhere – round club grounds such as Ayr's Millbrae, or Stirling County's Bridgehaugh? Decisions, decisions.
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