THE BIG RUGBY Union story this morning was the announcement of the Lions team to face The Brumbies; and to be honest, it looks to me to be Andy Farrell's default selection for the First Test.
We Scots will nae doots be disappoitned that Farrell Senr has plumped for the Irish centre pairing of Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose over “Shuggiepulotu” for this game. However, they have done the business for him in green, so he needs to see how they go outside Finn Russell, since he is well aware of how well the all-Scottish trio operates together.
The pack, Jac Morgan's absence apart, is pretty-much what I thought he might select for the Test, although, I had a suspicion he might have kept the starting front row for Wednesday's Canberra game back as a sort of red shirted “Bomb Squad”, given the impact they have had off the bench.
For all Alex Mitchell was Man-of-the-Match on Saturday, I still feel Ben White's better speed of delivery of ruck ball could yet get him onto the bench for the Tests.
There are still opportunities to break into the Test squad in the next two games, but, given how Farrell tends to be a Tammy Wynette follower when it comes to selection questions, the Test Fat Lady is already warming-up.
The team to face The Brumbies (in 1-23 order) is: Ellis Genge (E), Dan Sheehan, Tadgh Furlong (I), Maro Itoje (E. Captain), Joe McCarthy (I), Ollie Chessum, Tom Curry (E), Jack Conan: Jamison Gibson-Park (I), Finn Russell (S); James Lowe, Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose (I), Tommy Freeman (E), Blair Kinghorn (S). Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Andrew Porter (I), Will Stuart (E), Josh van der Flier (I), Henry Pollock: Alex Mitchell, Marcus Smith (E), Mack Hansen (I).
I APPRECIATE most of the blame sits with the increasingly-prominent “bean counters” who know the price of everything and the value of nothing, but those promoted journalists still working in the increasingly denuded ranks of today's mainstream media have an awful lot to answer for.
Increasingly, they are hiring non-journalists, usually in the field of sports coverage, a has-been, many of whom are probably better categorised as “never weres” to make inane comments – the thinking apparently being, if you haven't played at somewhere close to the top level, you are not qualified to comment on events. Aye Right!! I grew up watching Jim Baxter, Denis Law and The Lisbon Lions in Football: Ken Scotland, Arthur Smith, Hughie McLeod and The Mean Machine in Rugby Union. I never got near a Scotland cap, but, I know class when I see it and there are not many current players of that stature, more-professional though today's players might be when it comes to preparation.
The retired players are most-frequently seen on our Television screens, but of the many now employed in that field, only a handful: John Barclay, Brian Moore (although he is not seen or heard so much these days), Sam Warburton, Ben Kaye Dave Flatman (but keep him away from England games) and, since there is always a place for the court jester or two – Ryan Wilson and Austin Healey are worth air time. Big Martin Bayfield had the good sense to reinvent himself as a general host, rather than a specialist – the rest: get rid and hire real journalists.
But, that said, the trade of Journalism really has to up its game too. I know, never having had any formal training, but able to pick things up “on the tools”, I am not perhaps the person best-qualified to comment on this, but, these days I think there is too-much book-learning and not enough on-the-job training.
It's one thing learning in a class room or lecture theatre, quite another to have a veteran sub-editor pick-up your copy and loudly enquire of the News Room: “what fucking half-wit produced this pish”? (Journalism's equivalent of: can he do it on a cold, wet night at Bayview?)
Mind you, given the important job they do, good subs are worth their weight in gold; problem is, the bean counters don't appreciate how important they are and their numbers have been decimated – which means all sorts of stuff which shouldn't, gets through. With the best will in the world, subbing your own copy is not recommended – believe me, I know.
The unwillingness of the media managers to deploy journalists on long tours is also handicapping Rugby Union's ability – particularly in Scotland – to sell itself properly. A competent Union communications department would take up the slack, but, not, obviously, Murrayfield.
If you add-up the cost of covering a Tour to the South Pacific, it honestly makes no sense to send a staffer. A good freelance, could, if he could trust the media outlets to pay him properly, do a good job, otherwise, you are looking at locally- sourced coverage, which will be a bit iffy. Given these handicaps, the SRU, if they want to give the Tour the coverage it deserves, should be stepping-up. But, given that Dopey leads the Disney Care management of the Communications Department – competent in-house coverage aint gonna happen.
To expand this argument: OK I know they've been in transit, but, two days on from the win in New Zealand, still no word on those players injured in the first game – Adam Hastings and Ben Muncaster. The SRU has a strong social media presence, which they do not utilise as well as they might – they have to do better.
I know you are an esteemed member of the press otherwise known as an auld yin but sub editors are no more! Hence why we see so many errors in copy and layout. Journalists do type their copy into the page and it goes from there. Few of them write anything merely copy and paste PR releases.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many of the comms team in Murrayfield are journalists? More likely corporate communication specialists.
I gather these days, subs are known as Production Journalists; they are still required, but, alas few are of the necessary standard and too-often money was the cause of the demise of older, more-experienced production journalists.
ReplyDeleteThere is the legendary tale of how the redundancies were handled during one staff cull at the Daily Record:
The editorial staff was listed on two sheets of paper, the first by salary - highest to lowest; the second by years of service - longest to shortest. An arbitrary line was drawn across both pages and if your name was above the line on both, you were out, but, with a generous payment to sweeten your departure.
Apparently the paper's Chief Racing Sub was third on one list and fifth on the other. Rumour has it his pay-out came to nearly five figures, but only if he accepted within the hour, whereupon he established a new world record for clearing a desk and announced he was buying in Off the Record for the next hour, picked up his cheque and departed.
Fifty-five minutes later, the Sports Editor, just learning of his departure arrived in the pub, deep negotiations ensued and half and hour later he was back at his desk, as a highly-paid consultant - a post he held for a further well-remunerated 18 months, while he trained someone on the editing system he had devised and which only he knew how to operate.
Sadly, this was an all-too-rare case of the bean counters being counted out a it were.