Can We Cause A Melt-Down In The Rainbow Nation?

SUNDAY'S international between Scotland and South Africa at Scottish Gas Murrayfield is one which the visitors dare not lose. Aside from the psychological damage defeat would do to their increasingly paranoid core support – you can only go on parroting “Four World Cups” for so long, once you stop winning; while, increasinlgy blaming defeats on incompetent referees and biased TMOs is a poor look.

All things being equal, we have to acknowledge, the Saffas will start as favourites and, if they bring their A game, they will probably win. However, Glasgow Warriors, albeit under the guidance of a vbery-able Saffa coach, have shown that Saffa teams can be beaten, even in their own fortress. So, with home-field advantage, it would be foolish to write-off Scotland's chances tomorrow.

I fear our Head Coach is perhaps becoming predictable, since there were no real shocks in the squad which he announced rthis afternoon. With my Ayrshire hat on, however, (or should that maybe be a Kilmarnock Bunnet), I would have had D'Arcy Rae in the number 18 shirt.

The squad is:

THERE IS A Sky TV advert running on Facebook, which features Gary Neville copping a load of abuse when he uses the expression “The Class of '92”. He is then told by Ian Wright & Co that one of the reasons The Neville Brothers, David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes did so well is, they shared a dressing room with some quality older players: Erik Cantona, Peter Schmeichel, Roy Keane, Dennis Irwin etc., learning good habits and professionalism from them – under a good manager.

That worked for them in football; I reckon the same sort of development plan would work just as well in Rugby Union. There is a lot of discussion going on, in places such as the BTL comments on The Offside Line, about how we develop the next generation of Scotland caps, and the gap between the Arnold Clark Premiership and our two full-time professional teams.

As I have said before, and will keep saying until I am silenced in the days before I am carried into Masonhill Crematorium, “Super rugby, had the SRU implemented and managed it properly, would have answered that predicament.”

I now say, and give due credit to Auld Auchlin – aka Jock Craig, for saying it to me first – if the SRU use their heads for once, they COULD use the Premiership to the same ends. The difficulties in implementing a scheme which took cogniscance of the long-established traditions and rivalries of the club games, while using the Premiership as a vehicle for elite young player development are many, but, it could be done and does deserve to be discussed.

A ten-club Premiership, with minimum standards of club infrastructure and management put in place and rigourously-enforced; with five of the clubs alligned with Edinburgh and five with Glasgow Warriors could work. In Baseball in North America, for instance, the MLB – Major League Baseball clubs such as Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees all have Minor League Affiliates – clubs to which they send their younger players to learn how to be professional ball players, alongside more-seasoned players, and the odd player returning from a lengthy spell out with injuries.

The rookies are not left to their own devices, because there are experienced guys to guide them through games. Some of our current Premiership clubs, particularly the ones who previously had Super rugby franchises are mirroring this form of player development. Just look at Ayr and the impact players such as James Malcolm, Blair Macpherson and Bobby Beattie have on the park, on the younger guys around them.

It will take a lot of thought and I dare say a fair bit of knocking heads together, but, it could well work, for the betterment of Scottish Rugby. The question is, is there a willingness to try something new – or will, as so-often in Scottish Rugby, the forces of “It's Aye Been.....” continue to carry the day.