Some Of The Best Ideas Don't Always Get Discussed

DURING our short conversation, at Balgray on Saturday, Heriot's Director of Rugby Neil Meikle asked me how I managed to find time to write a 1000-word blog piece every day. The smart reply would have been to quote an old Lonnie Donegan line, from 'My Old Man's a Dustman': “Well, when you get to my age son – it helps to pass the time.”

I didn't have much time to pass yesterday, since I was carer to my oldest grandson, currently receiving excellent care from the brilliant and hard-working staff at Ayr Hospital, so, today's blog is a sort of “off-the-shelf” item, I have been meaning to use for some time.

Bill Lothian - even in semi-retirement, he comes up with good ideas

It was inspired by something which Bill Lothian posted on Facebook a week or five back, but, which has, between yesterday's news of the possible big-money sale of English Premiership Rugby, and some recent stuff on here, become relevant. Bill's Facebook post went:

"In my 30 + years as a full time rugby reporter few made a bigger impression on me than Alex Fynn. As Scottish rugby prepares to embrace a ring fenced so called "super" six this is part of an interview I did with the man credited as being the architect of the English football premiership."

 

"Alex Fynn, a sports consultant who has advised the English FA on the setting up of the Premiership, says: "Promotion and relegation is intrinsic because the way we tend to play sport is based on merit. Doing away with the idea of teams going up and down is about self-preservation.

 

"Life is on the side of the big battalions but within a sporting structure we must try and create opportunities for merit to prevail.

 

"A (sporting) structure should be for everyone - big and small.

 

"What must apply is that if you are good enough there has to be a route to rise to the top. Otherwise you will remove the dream factor which contributes so much to spectator interest." 

 

The message from Fynn is that pro sport is heavily driven by parochialism and it doesn't matter how unrealistic a club's ambition might seem in football or rugby their right to try to achieve those aims must be protected.

 

A former director of top advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi, Fynn adds: "The reason promotion/relegation is getting a bad press is not the concept but the fact the basic structures of many of our sports are wrong. The premium should be creating opportunities for as many meaningful fixtures as possible in a season. If that means establishing play-offs, fine.

 

"Also the idea of three up, three down or chasing European spots can also have a big impact in terms of giving sides something to chase to the pleasure of supporters.

"Anathema should be end of season mid-table fixtures. The way current structures can be improved is by a greater distribution of wealth.

 

"This means more clubs being able to come up with a greater expectation of success because a problem arises when teams come up with limited funds which means they go straight down.

"Emphasis should be placed on getting the number of teams in each league absolutely right; that would be a more sophisticated system. Alas, all too often we have an inappropriate number of teams but get that right and everything else has a better chance of falling into place."

There are some interesting proposals in there; let's have a look at them.

Alex Flynn clearly believes on merit-based competition, which goes against the introduction of Super-6. S6 is being brought-in, on a false premise, on a lack of prior research – on a whim in fact. If the SRU genuinely wants to do the best it can for its professional arm, and if BT Murryafield (BTM) HAS TO retain control – then they take all professional player development in-house, to the performance department.

The best solution would seem to be, as the Irish and Welsh are doing – by running professional A teams. Semi-professional teams, still ranked as “clubs” goes against the ethos of professional development. But, by giving these six clubs protected status as franchises, with no relegation, it goes against the ethos of club rugby in the domestic game.

Next-best, for me, would be a “Districts” set-up – perhaps a short, sharp, end-of-season tournament, in which the best club players could go head-to-head to showcase their talent and readiness for a step-up to full-time professional rugby.

 Jamie Bhatti - just one of a shed-load of top players to come through the Premiership. Will S6 do better?

The two professional sides are the “jam” on the jeely-piece of Scottish Rugby. Do we really need a layer of “marmalade” below that. I simply cannot see S6 doing player development any better than the Premiership did for Jamie Bhatti, Allan Dell, Fraser Brown, Zander Fagerson, Simon Berghan, Stuart McInally, D'Arcy Rae, Murray McCallum, Scott Cummings, Lewis Carmichael, Matt Fagerson, Adam Ashe, Matt Smith, Magnus Bradbury, Ali Price, Finn Russell, Charlie Sheil, Sean Kennedy, Nathan Fowls, Chris Dean, James Johnstone, Nick Grigg, Dougie Fife, Rory Hughes, Damien Hoyland, Blair Kinghorn and one or two others I have perhaps overlooked, all of whom have caught the eye in the Premiership.

The basic problem inside BTM today is – too-many of the decision-makers have no concept of what is involved in running an ordinary club, and the ordinary clubs are still the backbone of the game. We hear, for instance, that while the West Stand at BTM, wherein the offices of the “big beasts” are situated, is bursting at the seams, the South Stand, home province of the Domestic Game, has a severe problem with tumbleweed blowing down the corridors. The balance is wrong.

I hear too, some of the newcomers in the new super-dooper “Regional Directorships” or whatever, which BTM seems set on pushing through without consulting the clubs, do not come from rugby backgrounds. Nothing against the strengths which these newcomers might bring but, being able to say: “I'm Mandy – fly me” is not perhaps the best USP to bring to sorting-out the tribal uprisings north of the Tay; while experience in running Highers and Standard Grades might not readily transfer to running a Regional League competition.

By all means, bring in people with a business background, but, at club level, a knowledge of how club rugby works and of the pressures clubs are facing is, I would say, of greater importance.

Our system is flawed. Sort it out – properly by engaging with the clubs rather than by BTM's preferred management method of: “Dae whit we tell ye,” and who knows, we might have the sort of vibrant game Alex Flynn talks about.

Something Is Stirring In The West Of Scotland

WEST of Scotland's late winning score at Orkney on Saturday has already gone viral on social media, after a film of the try was posted. Let's just say, the scoring pass was VERY flat, and, in a professional game, would surely have been referred to the TMO. The comments of the Orkney support, caught on the video, would not have been out of place either, had the late and controversial score come in an Ayrshire junior football match.

 

Gavin Blackburn - pictured during his spell at Biggar

Any way, it counted, to tie the scores, with the successful last-kick-of-the-game conversion giving West a 36-34 win, a most-welcome outcome for a team 12-0 down after seven minutes and needing two scores to win with only eight minutes remaining.

“Aye, it was a great way to win, and a smashing weekend up there for the boys,” said new West coach Gavin Blackburn, who has now seen his young side win their first two matches of the new season – Saturday's opening league outing, which followed a 36-12 National League Cup win over Murrayfield Wanderers.

Blackburn admits, at the end of last season he was “scunnered” with coaching at Stirling County, and, with his new landscaping and gardening business taking-off, the experienced former Scotland Under-21 prop wasn't that bothered about staying involved. Then he got a telephone call from old chum Millan Brown, Head of Rugby Development at Burnbrae, who invited him to get involved.

Pete Rhodes and Mark Zoma on the charge as West beat Murrayfield Wanderers in the National League Cup (Picture courtesy of the Milngavie Herald)

Following his chat with Millan Brown, Gavin has signed a three-year contract and with his enthusiasm renewed, he is looking forward to seeing how far he can take the youngsters, who have the unenviable task of following in the footsteps of legends such as Peter and Gordon Brown, Sandy Carmichael, Dave Shedden, Gordon Bulloch, Chris Rea and the other greats who have worn the famous red and yellow hoops.

“Millan has done a terrific job with getting youngsters to play at West, and the team we had out on Saturday had an average age of 22. These boys have grown-up together, they are all strictly amateur and we have high hopes for them,” says Gavin.

“We have tried to give them as much off-field professional support as we can. We've got a sports psychologist on-board, we got good strength and conditioning systems in place and are attempting to develop a winning rugby culture again at Burnbrae.

“We are under no illusions, it's a young team, so we expect a bit of a roller-coaster season, but, from what I have seen so-far, the future is bright for West,” the coach continued.

“We had 32 players training last Thursday, so we were able to run two teams in the session, while the way the boys put-in extra sessions, either in the gym or working together on skills is rewarding and uplifting for any coach.

“The boys have made a great start, now it is up to us and them to get West back up the leagues and I am confident we can do this.”

The demise of West in recent seasons has been sad for all those who can remember, if not the halcyon days of the 1970s, then the fact that it is not that long since they were a Premiership club, losing that status only in 2011.

West Legends Sandy Carmichael and Gordon Brown

The legendary “drove road” from Ayrshire, over which the likes of the Browns, Shedden, Ecky Wilson, Quintin Dunlop, the Gray brothers, the Gossmans, Sandy Service and Ian Murchie travelled to Burnbrae may be overgrown, but, Gavin is certain, if they get the breaks, one or two of the present XV have the potential to develop into future Glasgow players, to follow the Bullochs and Rob Hartley in making the step-up from Burnbrae to Scotstoun.

I am not the only old romantic who wishes him, Millan Brown and the other guys at Burnbrae all the best in their mission to restore one of the great names of Scottish club rugby. If he succeeds, Burnbrae will soon be buzzing again.

West are at home to Murrayfield Wanderers on Saturday, hoping for a repeat of that National League Cup victory of two weeks ago.

MEANWHILE, at the other end of the M8 another rugby “blast from the past” is stirring, with the return of Royal High School Rugby to the fixture card.

Following last season spent in the guise of “Barnton” - a move which followed their “divorce” from Corstorphine Cougars, Royal High are back in the familiar black and white hoops, playing out of the school's Barnton grounds and looking to follow-up last season's runaway win in East Division 2, with another promotion run in East Division 1.

At the moment, in something like (without the collateral damage – not least to Scandinavian forests to provide newsprint) a “Rangers” scenario, Royal High is an Associate Club. All that history – from the likes of Mark Morrison through to Iwan Tukalo, means nothing. But, I would not bet against the lads from Barnton getting the name of Royal High back into the National Leagues, sooner rather than later.

ONE OF Scottish Rugby's equivalent of a member of the House of Lords contacted me this week, to voice some concerns. He's OK, he gets his tickets for Murrayfield internationals as part of his “pension” for services rendered. But, he is still concerned for those not as-fortunate.

As he points out, his interest was piqued by a concerned club supporter, who can no longer afford to take his wife and two kids, en famille, to a home 6Nations game at BTM. This Scotland supporter pointed-out:

• Two years ago an adult “bronze” ticket (the cheapest seats) for the Irish and Welsh games cost £40
   
• For the 2019 6Nations, these same tickets will cost £57 – an increase of £17 or 42.5%
  
  
• Two years ago, an adult “silver” ticket – the next level up for the public, were £50
  
  
• For the 2019 Nations, these same tickets will cost £62 – an increase of £12 or 19.35%
  
  
• Two years ago, “gold” tickets, the poshest seats available to the public, cost £85
  
  
• For the 2019 Nations, these same tickets will cost £97 – an increase of £12 or 14.1%
  
  
• So, those supporters who can only afford the cheapest seats are being penalised most
  
  
• My contact asks: “How much of this is a result of pre-selling "Season Passes" before the stakeholders - the clubs, receive their allocations?”

The cost of the cheapest 6Nations adult tickets for the 2019 tournament are: Italy - £42, Ireland and Wales - £57. The most-expensive tickets will cost £87 for the Italian game and £97 for the Irish and Welsh games.

There are no concessions available for the Irish and Welsh matches, so, that's a minimum of £228 for a family of four attending these games together. Add travel costs, programmes, snacks etc, and you are looking at somewhere above £300 for the game, and, if the family is travelling any distance to the game, perhaps £400.

This emphasis on increasing the costs to Scotland fans contrasts somewhat with the position in France, where, by law, 10% of all match tickets have to be made available for around 15 Euros.

We should maybe be grateful the SRU doesn't – as yet – charge us for the pleasure of signing-up to their new super-duper electronic ticketing scam.

The Band Played Waltzing Matilda - As S6 Pulled Away From The Quay

I HAVE often wondered which of the other major rugby-playing nations Scotland ought to look to for ideas on how to grow our game and keep it relevant. A lot of rugby men believe, we should be looking at New Zealand – same size roughly, much the same climate, but, the problem there for me is, New Zealand is as-obsessed with rugby as we are here with football. So, what works for them might not work for us.

Perhaps the nation we most-closely resemble is Australia. There, Rugby Union is apparently only played in a few private schools, while it plays second fiddle for media attention to Rugby League in Queensland and New South Wales and Australian Rules Football in Victoria. That reads like Scotland and our football obsession denying our game the oxygen of publicity.

Another thing we appear to have in common with the Aussies is – a national Union consumed with control freakery and a disdain for the amateur or grass-roots game. Here are a few quotes for you:

“Our clubs are being run by people who know what they doing, and doing it well without any help from anyone. Amateur volunteers who know the game and know what is important when it comes to creating a good environment for our young blokes to be their best.”

“At Rugby HQ we have essentially the same people, spending the same money, on the same things! I and others have been banging on about this for a few years now, but nothing has changed. The board are essentially the same people who have never rocked the boat, and tellingly, have never known what it is like to put a successful rugby team or season together at any level. But they can build an empire!

“The rugby community is us; mums and dads, brothers and sisters, aunties and uncles, who make our game work and make it possible for kids to play.”

Former Wallaby Brett Papwroth - always worth reading his thoughts

That might have been said by any long-standing Scottish club official, but the guy I am quoting is actually Brett Papworth, 15 times a Wallaby, now President of Eastwood RFC, and a director of the Sydney Rugby Union. Papworth is a long-standing thorn in the flesh of Rugby Australia and the New South Wales RU and a committed champion of the club game.

He says: “Our Sydney grade rugby competition is arguably the only bright spot on the rugby landscape, full of quality people who create a contest that is meaningful, tribal and affordable. It has always been that way, and run by people who know what they are doing, for nothing. The rugby community just quietly getting on with the job of looking after the rugby community.”

Don't you just wish we could stop arguing about Stupid-6 and Agenda-3 and get back to being able to say that about club rugby in Scotland?

Papworth went on to say: “At Rugby HQ a month or two back, they appointed a new General Manager of Community Rugby. Really. The question is why? I’m sure he is a decent bloke, but he is from a soccer and athletics background, and has no budget to help any of us. So what does he do, and why would any of us listen?” Now, that's another quote we in Scotland can relate to.

Sadly, all is not well with the wonderful Shute Shield, the premier competition in Australian club rugby. The Sydney Rugby Union has to pay some three-hundred thousand Australian dollars to have Grand Finals Day broadcast live on free to air TV. They reckon this deal is worthwhile, for the exposure it gives the game, but, it doesn't do much for the SyRU's finances.

I wonder if the northern hemisphere's SRU would ever consider a deal which allowed some free to air TV station, such as BBC Alba, to showcase the club game. No, on second thoughts, cannot ever see this being allowed. Because of SRU control freakery which means club rugby doesn't overly concern the “suits”.

WHEN I was putting together yesterday's round-up of the weekend games, I noticed a couple of, to me anyway, “new” competitions – the North Referees Cup and the Brin Cup. Now, in my ignorance, I had never heard of either of these competitions, but, on making enquiries, I was told they were both somewhat long-standing, but, like some other local competitions – the Midlands Cup, the Ayrshire Cup, the Glasgow & District Knock-Out Cup, to name but three, they had fallen into disrepair through our obsession with league games.

So, how come these two northern competitions are back. Apparently they are a “retirement gift” from this blog's old friend: “The Doric Dan Quayle,” aka Mike Monro. Prior to crashing and burning during the SRU vice presidential campaign, the bold Monro decided it would be a good idea to get these two cups out of cold storage.

Mike Monro - trying to bring back two old northern rugby favourites

I must admit, I am a huge fan of these local competitions, and would love to see more of them, so kudos to Mike for trying to get them up and running again. However, and this is something on which Mr Monro has a track record – he didn't get the Caledonian Competitions Committee on-side, and he didn't contact all the clubs who might wish to play.

Maybe his old problem with emails resurfaced! So, now, if the competitions are held, it will probably be a case of a lot of unplayed games, or teams dropping-out when they have to utilise a Cup day to play a previously unplayed league game.

I was around when the SRU inaugurated the worlds first official leagues in Rugby Union. And, I can still remember, back then the SRU was somewhat determined that long-standing club matches, and the local cups should not wither and die because we, like football, went down the road of making league games all-important.

Sadly, that one died a death, more's the pity. Maybe we should try to bring back that ethos of nurturing old rivalries and local cups.

FINALLY, on the subject of unplayed games, I am reliably informed, something like a dozen games scheduled for Saturday were not played – because clubs could not raise teams, often because of front row cover issues.

On the opening week of a new season, that is scary, very scary. What is the SRU going to do about getting more people playing the game?

It Is Draftier At Scotstoun Than At Murrayfield

I HAVE, in yesterday's blog, already covered the Tennent's Premiership games from Saturday; so I will not spend much time on that league here, other than to highlight the different ways our two full-time professional sides differ in their relationship with the top club sides.

Peter Wright has, in the past and with good reason, criticised Edinburgh's approach to releasing drafted players

In past seasons, since the annual professional draft began: legend – not forgetting genuine experience – had it that Glasgow was more-willing than Edinburgh to make their idle players available to the Premiership clubs. During his tenure as coach at Selkirk, Peter Wright famously said: “Aye, Edinburgh will let you have a drafted professional, provided you send him back fit to hold a tackle bag on Monday morning.”

Old habits seemingly die hard around Murrayfield. On Saturday, a mere five Edinburgh players: Pietro Ceccelli and George Turner (in opposition in the Hawick v Melrose match); Charlie Shiel and Daryll Marfo – (on opposite sides for Currie and Boroughmuir); and Rory Sutherland – for Edinburgh Academical against Ayr, took the field in the Premiership.

No less than 12 Warriors, however: Greg Peterson, Tom Gordon and Luke Crosbie for Currie; James Malcolm and Robbie Nairn with Ayr; Ratu Tagive, Hamilton Burr, Adam Nicol and Brandon Thomson with Stirling County; and Lelia Masaga, Bruce Flockhart and Matt Smith (who was red-carded for his trouble), for Glasgow Hawks, turned out in the Premiership on Saturday.

In addition, five full-time Academy players, all of whom appear on the Warriors' roster on their website: Robbie Smith, Ollie Smith, Euan McLaren and Marshall Sykes (all with Ayr) and Grant Stewart with Hawks, played across the five Premiership fixtures.

Warriors listed ten players as “injured” at the weekend, which left eight players, plus five full-time Academy players “rested”.

It is harder to assess the availability of Edinburgh players. Unlike the guys at Scotstoun, the Edinburgh media team does not list “injured” players when they put-out a team announcement.

Darcy Graham - one of a team of idle Edinburgh players on Saturday

We do know John Barclay will be out for some time, which leaves 13 Edinburgh players: Tom Brown, Nathan Fowls, Darcy Graham, Damien Hoyland, Juan Pablo Socino, Jason Baggot, Magnus Bradbury, Lewis Carmichael, Cammy Fenton, Calum Hunter-Hill, Wilem Nel, Sanitiki Nayala and Dave Cherry, whose availability status at the weekend was unknown. Also, Edinburgh does not include their full-time Academy players on their team roster.

Surely, if they are going to draft these players to a club – then the club side should be able to call on them on a Saturday to a greater extent than they have in the past. Or does somebody around Edinburgh believe, since the Premiership is allegedly “not fit for purpose,” it isn't good enough for their otherwise idle players?

ARGUABLY the most-exciting league this season will be National League 1. After all, when S6 kicks-off in a year's time, no less than eight of the current dozen teams in this league will be promoted to the new Championship – which will be the highest strata of the club game. It is a nonsense to try to make the “invitation-only, but you have to buy your way in” S6 a part of the “Domestic game” - it's a Performance Department construct and the quicker BTM comes clean and admits as much, the sooner the dust will settle.

The six games produced a total of 377 points – an average of just under 63 per game; the Gala v Hamilton clash at Netherdale saw the most points scored – 95, while the poor long-suffering fans at Poynder Park had to make do with just 29, as visitors Musselburgh edged out hosts Kelso.

Highest scorers were Aberdeen GSFP, who beat Jed-forest 68-22, in what, for many, was the shock result of the day. The “Southside Derby” for the Billy Barnes Trophy, saw first blood to GHA, who grabbed a bonus point win over Cartha-Queen's Park, while there were big wins too for Marr and Selkirk.

Ross Angus scoring for GHA against Cartha-Queen's Park in Saturday's Southside Derby at Braidholm

picture courtesy of Colin Robinson and the GHA Facebook page 

All this left Aberdeen heading the table, on points difference, from the four other clubs who all scored bonus-points wins, followed by Musselburgh. Then come Kelso, with their losing bonus and Hamilton and Jed, with try bonuses in defeat.

IN NATIONAL 2, GHK went straight to the head of the table with a bonus-point win over Lasswade, followed by Falkirk, who beat Howe of Fife, Highland, who defeated Preston Lodge, Peebles, who saw off Glasgow Accies, Stewart's-Melville, conquerors of Whitecraigs, and Biggar, who beat Dumfries Saints. All the winners bar Biggar picked-up bonus points, as, in defeat, did Whitecraigs.

CARRICK got off to a rollicking start to life in the National Leagues, crushing Haddington 67-22 to go straight to the top of the table. They are followed by other bonus-point claiming winners, Ardrossan Accies, Gordonians, Newton Stewart and West of Scotland, who staged a grandstand finish from a seemingly hopeless position to pip Orkney, who had to be content with both losing and a try-scoring bonuses.

A GREAT old name returned to club rugby in East Region Division 1, where, after last season's adventures as “Barnton” and promotion, Royal High returned, with a 22-22 draw against Berwick. This was perhaps the tightest league of all, apart from Livingston's 26-11 win over Linlithgow in the West Lothian Derby, none of the other games saw victory by more than five points. If the clubs can keep things that close over the season, this will be quite a league.

STRATHENDRICK, after their promotion at the end of last season, have gone straight to the top of West 1, with a 59-7 win over Stewartry. The other big winners on the day were Greenock Wanderers, who now have Club XV “cap” Brendan McGroarty back from Hawks. They opened with a 63-24 win over the other promoted side from last season, Cumnock – who nevertheless went back to East Ayrshire with the consolation of a try bonus-point from what was clearly an entertaining match. Allan Glens beat Garnock at Lochshore, in the clash of two teams who should be there or thereabouts at the end of the season, while the first of several Ayrshire Derbies in this division this season, saw Irvine beat Kilmarnock 25-17 at Marress.

Biggest winners of the day were Uddingston, in West 2, who beat Millbrae 89-10, at Millbrae.

IN CALEDONIA 1, Glenrothes went straight to the top of the table, with a resounding 59-16 home win over Aberdeen Wanderers, while newly-promoted Hillfoots went straight into second place following a 9-7 away win over Harris Academy FP.

Muny a Meikle Maks a Muckle

I HAD a short but interesting conversation with Heriot's Director of Rugby Neil Meikle prior to yesterday's Glasgow Hawks v Heriot's Premiershp clash at Balgray. Basically, Neil reckons the figures I have been quoting for the potential running costs of a Super- franchise are absoute rubbish and way over the top.

Neil Meikle: "Aristotle, your figures are wrong"

Neil reckons, my estimate of present-day budgets in the Premiership – I thought £150,000 per season as a ball park figure; Neil believes that is way over the top – far-less my £300,000 per season estimate for an S6 franchise, never mind the upwards of £500,000 per season which my internationalist's parent reckoned the other week.

Neil, who is invovled at the sharp end, may well be right in his assertion, and, if he is, good luck to him. He believes at this level, players simply want to play, and being able to enjoy the game they love, comes some way behind any payment for most of the guys in the Premiership.

Again, Neil may well be correct, and, if he and Phil Smith and the rest of the team at Goldnacre can get the sort of performance they did out of their team in their six-try demolition of Hawks on Saturday without paying big money – more power to them. But, I think, once S6 kicks-in at the end of the season, Heriot's will discover, money talks and if players are going to be expected to make the greater commitment to the semi-professional league that is being spoken about, in terms of training time, well they will surely want to be better paid.

Of course, as I keep stressing with this whole Super-6 thing, we are stepping into something of an unknown with this move. Heriot's players, in seeking to demonstrate that their club is the best in Scotland, are merely following in the footsteps of Andy Irvine, the Milnes, Iwan Tukalo, the Lawsons and so forth. The Nails have always been in the forefront of the club game.

But, running a franchised team, tasked with being the “bridge” between the play for fun amateurs and the hard-nosed professionals at Glasgow and Edinburgh – that's a whole different ball game, and I think the guys running whatever the Heriot's-based franchise is called will find – if they want to be competitive, they will need to pay a good bit more than is currently the case.

The guys tasked with finding the money to keep the franchise going will surely discover too – players talk to each other, and, when that happens, things escalate.

Let's say (and I am plucking these figures out of my head): Heriot's are paying a late-rate £50 per week in “expenses” to cover a player commiting to two nights per week of training, plus a match. Over a 40-week season, that's £2000 per player – 35 players: £70,000 per season in expenses.

Now, suppose one of the other Edinburgh Edinburgh franchises is offering £75 per week, well, if that second franchise reckons the Heriot's scrum-half is a better player than the one they have, they have a pretty powerful recruiting tool towards getting him. Suddenly you have not only a bidding war, but, also, the thinking enters the dressing room: “Wait a minute, if he's worth that, maybe I am selling myself short here.”

Before you know it, wages across the city are rising. In a semi-professional league, things such as appearance money will soon come in. A greater commitment will be called for from players – good luck in keeping costs down Neil, you will need it.

ANY WAY, S6 is in the future, what of the present and Saturday's events in the Premiership. A glance at the table after the opening round of matches shows a familiar landscape – Melrose, Heriot's, Currie and Ayr, the usual suspects, occupying the first four places, followed by Watsonians, then Stirling County – five franchise winners in the top six places,

I would not be at all surprised if the top four after Saturday are the four clubs who go through to the play-offs, but, there are 17 more rounds of games to go and a lot can change.

Phil Smith - purring at the end

Heriot's were impressive in putting to the sword a Hawks XV which included All Black Lelia Masaga and a further three Warriors full-timers. Not even the loss of both starting locks: Adam Sinclair and Callum Marshall, could depower the Edinburgh pack, for whom Iain Wilson gave a genuine captain's display, that had Phil Smith purring, not least because he claims he rarely, if ever, sees his side win their opening league fixture.

Wilson has been virtually side-lined by injury over the past two seasons, but, on Saturday, even before his immediate opponent was red-carded, he had the better of his head-to-head with Warriors' Matt Smith. On the other side of the scrum, the battle between Ruaridh Leishman and Bruce Flockhart was also cracking entertainment.

Phil Smith was also chuffed to bits by the play of Andrew Simmers at scrum-half. Having taught Andrew at Glasgow Academy – where else would a Simmers be educated – he is delighted at how the kid has matured, and rightly so.

Heriot's strength is up front, but, the Goldenacre legacy of excellent backs remains, even if, as yet, some of the current crop are a wee bit under-appreciated.

Hawks are having to depend on youth this season. OK, we all know: “You win nothing with kids,” but, if this squad, and there were at least four teenagers in the starting XV, can keep their heads up, they will learn quickly and surprise one or two sides this season.

 Lelia Masaga - influencing the Hawks youngsters

Lelia Masaga was praised by coach Fin Gillies for his input – image, at 18, getting to play alongside an All Black,. If you cannot benefit from that, there is no hope for you. Flockhart gave a rousing display at six, while Grant Stewart has clearly benefitted from his summer “holiday” with the Scotland squad in North America. I predict, he will be starting for Warriors before this season is over – and I know the competition he faces there.

Finally, Saturday saw another excellent refereeing display from Ben Blain, the Cumbrian really has become a welcome addition to the ranks of Scottish match officials.