How Soggy Is My Valley - From All The Tears Shed Over The Week-end

ON THE BASIS “a broken clock is correct twice per day,” I ought not to have been surprised at a BTL comment on a piece on 'Wales Online' this morning, bemoaning the absolute skelping which Cardiff Blues and the Ospreys took at the hands of Edinburgh and Glasgow, at the weekend.

The Taffia are hurting, they will – reluctantly – go to their default position: “You never beat Wales, you only score more points than them” after losing to an English team. They have learned over recent seasons to accept defeat from the Irish, but, losing by a combined 29-72 to The Jocks over one afternoon/evening, that's a hard one for the boyos to take.

The particular comment, one of 146 on the piece, which caught my attention, was from someone styling himself: 'Davo17' – perhaps a bench-warming prop, who wrote:

“It's all far more complicated than people think in my view but in the end it boils down to lack of public support. I hold my hands up and am as guilty as the next person but I have no desire to watch my region these days sitting in a cold, souless stadium watching players of which I know little playing in a league that has little form or structure and that appears to change every year.

There is little or no consistency in terms of kick off times, all of which adds up, it appears to me, to a sport which puts the paying customer bottom of the list when it comes to entertaining the public.

I hope in vain that the game in these islands will one day come to its senses and instigate a British and Irish league, something the WRU could have bought into years back but lacked the foresight. Even the apparently successful English Premiership is losing money hand over fist so it might not be a dead duck.

Hiding the issues facing the regions behind the success of the national team is a false prospectus. Wales has, for the last 15 years, had an extraordinary group of players and, for the most part, a successful coach hence a period of sustained success but if one, or either, of these is no longer the case then the whole house of cards might come crashing down.

The game needs administrators of foresight and vision to take it forward in Wales but, sadly, such men and women as as rare as regional successes in Scotland this past weekend.”

Another BTL commenter: 'MikeFman' makes a point I have been hammering for years – the way young players from the age group teams cannot get adequate game time, because the United Rugby Championship squads are filled by southern hemisphere journeymen.

Worryingly, considering Rugby Union is supposedly “The People's Game” in Wales, a lot of the commenters were suggesting there is not currently the talent in Wales to support four regions. I certainly have made that point before – I believe three Welsh and three Scottish teams would be a fairer division of resources within the URC.

What did surprise me reading the BTL comments, was the number of readers advocating Wales join Us in having just two URC teams – East and West Wales, one based in Swansea, the other in Cardiff.

I now wish to return to 'Davo17's' comment on Wales Online, in particular to his third paragraph:

“I hope in vain that the game in these islands will one day come to its senses and instigate a British and Irish league, something the WRU could have bought into years back but lacked the foresight. Even the apparently successful English Premiership is losing money hand over fist so it might not be a dead duck.”

Anyone with even half a brain knows this is the logical answer to rugby's problems in these islands. However, like my Welsh friend, I do not think we will see this British and Irish League until the last English club-owning millionaire admits: “my losses are now unsustainable.”

The reality is, the only level of rugby which is capable of attracting the size of crowds and the media interest which it requires to survive and thrive as a commercial business is INTERNATIONAL RUGBY. Anything else is a subsidiary branch of the full-fat, international game and has to be treated accordingly.

The problems with setting-up a British and Irish League are threefold:

1. The English would insist on running it, having the biggest say, the most clubs and the biggest share of any money it makes. Our way or the highway.

2. What happens to the Italian and South African clubs in the URC? The Saffers in particular bring a fair bit of cash to the table.

3. Ireland, Scotland, South Africa and Wales at professional club level, each has enabled the governing Union to retain control, England has allowed the clubs to have control – the English clubs will be very hard to placate and get onside.

Rather than a British and Irish League, we should maybe be looking at an NFL-style European League – by combining the Gallagher Premiership, Top 14 and United Rugby Championship. However, a league or a competition involving 45 clubs – 13 English, 14 French and 18 from the URC - would be a bit unwieldy.

Everywhere but in England and France, the Unions run the show, are the English and French Unions strong enough to tell their big clubs:

• There will be a pan-European League, and we, the national unions, will be running it, our way.

• Not all you guys will qualify to get into this new league.

• There will be a CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) which every club will require to sign-up to.

On grounds of fair play, levelling the playing field and good management, any league, be it a British and Irish, or a northern hemisphere one, will require a CBA, the current club owners will not like that one little bit and if our hypothetical super league is suggested, I can see the CAS (Court of Arbitration in Sport) in Laussane, being involved for some time.

Are We Good - Or Are The Welsh Bad?

I HAVE nobody to blame but myself, I wasn't paying attention, or I would have known about the Edinburgh v Cardiff game being available on the BBC iplayer on Saturday afternoon.

So there I was, not really enjoying the arm wrtestle between the Harlequins and Exeter and Harlequins packs, when, at half-time, I discovered I could access the match at Legoland. OK, I missed the really-good bit of a very-good performance by Edinburgh, but, still found the second half absorbing.

We now, thanks to Gregor Townsend and Mike Blair have the makings of a discernible Scottish style of Rugby Union, basically, if it's even half-on – run the bloody ball. Particularly since we now have the players able to do this, I can live with it. It was refreshing to see the Edinburgh players willing to, and knowing they have their coach's backing on this, keen to back themselves, ball-in-hand, one-on-one with their opponents.

With a wee bitof luck and a tad more precision, Edinburgh might have stuck 50 on Cardiff. I gather Mark Bennett was back to his very best in the first half, he was certainly impressive enough in the second, but, he was beaten to the Man of the Match award by Magnus Bradbury, who, if he can maintain Saturday's form, has a great chance of being back in the Scotland pack come the Guinness Six Nations. Marko should also be back in Scotland contention too, but, my bias as regards that young man is well-known.

Mike Blair is building something special at Murrayfield, and it is good for Scottish Rugby to see Edinburgh atop the United Rugby Championship table.

Forewarned, I was then able to switch to S4C and watch the full Glasgow v Ospreys match, and a comfortable win for Warriors. Like Edinburgh, Glasgow probably left two or three tries out there – they certainly won by more than the final score indicates. By half-time, it was clear Ospreys had come simply to lose by as few points as possible. They come across as one of those teams who cannot play that well themselves, but, have got good at stopping better teams from fully-expressing their superiority.

The Glasgow stand-outs were Rory Darge in the pack and Man of the Match Sione Tuipulotu in the backs, although, I would add a lot of praise for lock Kiran McDonald-Seran, who put-in a monumental shift in the boiler-house.

 It was good to see Walter Fifita being unleashed in the second half, although I would have liked to see him on the ball more. Good too, to see Fraser Brown back in action, and scoring.

So, all things considered, a good Saturday afternoon/evening for Scottish Rugby, however, we have tougher challenges to come as this month unfolds, with the greater challenge of Europe.

Once again, I was cringing for the Welsh rugby fans, at the abysmally-low quality of the commentary teams – who take myopia to a whole new level. OK, I couldn't understand much of what the S4C guys were saying, but, they seemed to mention Glasgow players more often than the English speaking BBC One Wales team managed to mention Edinburgh players in the Cardiff game. The camera followed Jamie Hodgson off the park and into his seat, but the commentators were too-busy twittering gibberish to name check him, or Glen Young, on for his Edinburgh debut.

I do hope young Jamers Botham is ok. That looked like a nasty injury he sustained, holding-up the second half for ten minutes. For me, however, the worrying incident was right at the end, when a Cardiff plaeyr went through the advertising hoardings and the metal fencing, to land on the stones behind the in-goal area. Now, we saw a similar incident in the Super6 final, but at the other end of the park, I was convinced then, that particular area, which is a run-off one at the back of the in-goal area, is dangerous and ought to be changed. Clearly, TCD and The Junta do not have the same concerns for player welfare or safety, since nothing has been done and we've had a second incident.

AS I wrote, further up this piece, I was distinctly unimpressed by the first half of Harlequins v Exeter. Given some of the talent on display on both sides, and specifically Marcus Smith and Stuart Hogg, I expected better. But, to be fair, the conditions weren't good so it was hardly surprising that it degenerated into an arm wrestle.

That tip tackle on Joe Marler was as clear a red card as I've seen – mind you, if there's one player who isn't going to be damaged by landing on his head, it's probably Marler.

I actually thought, of the four weekend games I've seen at the time of writing, the two involving the Scottish teams were the best. Mind you, they were facing Welsh regions and I fear, at the moment, what little talent there is in Wales is probably spread too-thinly over the four regions. There were a lot of bang average players out there in the colours of Cardiff and Ospreys. Or, did the Scottish players just make them look average?

Aristotle Is Thinking About The Game's Future

IN MY last blog post, I looked at better policing and enforcement of current Laws. In this one, I intend returning to something I have long felt might save grass-roots rugby.

This is a change to form a new hybrid game: Recreational Rugby, this is an idea I got from ice hockey, where recreational hockey aims to keep the best parts of the game, while discarding the big hits and the fighting of the 'full fat' game.

You watch a professional game (the Gallagher Premeirship, Top14, URC or the European games) and you can hear the collisions. The ferocity of the exchanges and the sheer physicality, while exciting, can be off-putting to spectators of a delicate sensibility. This even comes into play as far down as the semi-professional FOSROC Super6.

The risk of injury in such exchanges definitely puts a fair number of parents off seeing their children continuing to play rugby past youth level. So, the big question is:

How do we de-power club rugby?

The big wince-inducing collisions generally, but not always, come at the breakdown, usually when a flanker does his best impression of a human Exocet, to take-out the jackaler from the defending side. My own view is, tougher refereeing (the player doing the Exocet impression has no intention of staying on his feet, he could injure an opponent, so – penalise him and, in a lot of cases, yellow-card him) and a return to real rucking and the need to play the ball with a foot at a ruck – job done.

But, we cannot expect players in the community game to play to these standards, so, if we adopt the concept of recreational rugby, what do we do about the breakdown?

How about adapting a Law from Rugby League?

In the 13-a-side game, they have the “Six Tackle Law” whereby, if a team hasn't scored in six possessions, they lose control of the ball to the opposition. Obviously, we don't have this in Union, so we see well-drilled teams at the top level going through over 20 phases of possession: ball carrier runs forward, is tackled, team retains possession at the ruck, another ball carrier trucks, repeat until a try is scored, a knock-on concedes possession, a penalty is won and we move to the next set piece, in preparation for starting the whole rigmarole over again.

So, in Recreational Rugby, why don't we adopt League's “Play the Ball Rule”? The ball carrier runs forward, he is tackled – no ruck forms, he plays the ball back to a dummy half and on we go. There might then be a case of adapting the six tackles law to prohibit any one side from more than eight or ten continuous carries – perhaps by adopting the American Football “Downs” system, so the team in possession has a limited number of attempts to advance ten or 15 metres, if they fail, they concede possession to the opposition.

I think this law adaption would encourage fast re-cycling of ball after tackles, encourage the attacking of space, rather than, as now, seeking to tie-in defenders around the breakdown, and give us a more-fluid and dynamic game.

Another law adaption I would suggest is around the maul. I have long felt there is a basic unfairness about the maul law, in allowing transference of the ball to the rear, so that it is virtually impossible for the defending side to attack the ball legally.

I would change it so the player who took the ball into the maul – usually the line-out catcher, had to hold onto it, thereby allowing the opposition a half-decent chance of ripping it off him or her. To me, having the ball in the arms of a hooker, nestling behind two or three, or more, bigger guys, is basically unfair.

The maul adaptions I am advocating could equally-well apply to the semi-professional and full-time professional game, by the way.

How else might we make Recreational Rugby more-attractive to the players and get more playing?

We could maybe, instead of playing two x 40 minute halves, make a game four x 20 minute quarters; we could look at rolling substitutions; we might look at a requirement that every member of a match-day squad – starters plus replacements – has to play a minimum number of minutes, the onus has always to be on getting the maximum number of players actually playing.

On this, we should be more pro-active in getting matches played, even if one or other side cannot raise 15 players. Legislation on this is already in-place, let's use it more.

GOOD LUCK to all the players, both professional and amateur, looking to get their 2022 rugby started this afternoon.

Between poor weather, pitch conditions and the ongoing Covid restrictions, we don't really know which games will go ahead, but, however many we get played, it's a positive sign for the game in these uncertain times.

I am currently forced to isolate, since the two daughters still at home, the nurse and the hotel manager both tested positive for Covid. I will therefore remain hidden away in what Number Two Grandson terms: “The Papa Cave,” looking to stay safe – which, thanks to negative LFTs appears to be the situation.

So, it's Harlequins v Exeter Chiefs for me on TV this afternoon. I hope it's a better game than last night's Bristol Bears v Sale Sharks offering, from which I bailed-out at half-time. The best bit was the pre-match snippet on Wayne Barnes, who was refereeing Premiership game number 250.

It's Time Rugby's Dublin Murphyia Laid Down The Law Properly And Consistently

OF LATE, I have been devoting what I feel is too-much time to the imperfections of the current World Rugby Laws of the Game. I fear I, and the various other philosophers on the game around the globe, have been drawn into this activity because the paid and more-sadly the elected officials, into whose hands we have placed the guardianship of the game, have perhaps been too-busy feathering their own nests.

Let me say, straight away, the current Laws of the game are not perfect – they could do with deep and serious re-writing, an exercise for which I currently see no appetite within the corridors of power at WR's Dublin headquarters. But, before we embark on what would be both a lengthy and expensive re-drafting exercise, should we not perhaps start by trying a full season in which the current Laws are rigidly and properly enforced?

This, I feel, would, certainly in the early stages lead to stop-start games, unduly influenced by the referee's whistle. However, if the players and the coaches learned the lessons of this, I feel sure they would adapt and the game would be better for this.

I also accept, since leading members of the refereeing community have repeatedly told me this is the case, too-many decisions are influenced by – and you will not find this single, crucially-important word anywhere in the Lawbook: “MATERIALITY.”

What is materiality? The explanation I got, from a leading referee manager is: “at every breakdown – ruck or maul, and at every set piece – scrum or line out, at any one time, several of the laws are being broken, so, you penalise the one you feel has the most material effect on the game.”

Who'd be a referee? The poor man or woman with the whistle is expected to police the Laws of the game, which are being breached on an industrial scale by the players. His or her every decision is being second-guessed by the fans on the sidelines and by the coaches, who have maybe spent a considerable part of the previous week teaching their players how to cheat effectively.

Let's look at your average ruck, and please feel free to inform me of any potential infringements I have missed out.

• The ball carrier is tackled – forming the ruck:

1. Was the tackle legal?

2. Did the tackled player, on going to ground, attempt an additional roll?

3. Did the tackler release and get to his feet before “jackalling” for the ball?

4. Did he go straight to the ball, or did he go hands to ground first, before coming back onto the ball?

5. If the tackler did not immediately get back to his feet, was he guilty of “sealing-off” to prevent a fair contest for the ball?

6. Did the tackler immediately roll away?

7. Was he perhaps held in by an arriving team mate of the tackled player, preventing a fair contest?

8. Did the players subsequent to the ball carrier and tackler arrive “through the gate” or was there “side entry”?

9. Did the ball carrier release the ball when tackled, or did he or she hold onto possession?

10. Was there an illegal clear-out of a supporting player in the ruck?

11. Was there a knock-on during the carnage?

12. When the ball was eventually played back to the scrum-half, did he use the ball within the designated five seconds?

There we have it, one ruck, 12 questions for the referee to answer, in one sighting, in real time – then think how many rucks there are in a game, in which the poor official has to go through the same analysis.

Dinosaur that I am, I would go back to the days of real rucking, where the ball had to be played by a player's foot following a tackle, and, if you were on the ground you were out of the game and fair game to be stood-on.

Yes, I know someone being rucked out of a breakdown doesn't look good, but, provided the head kickers are weeded-out, and this shouldn't take too-long if they are jumped upon from a great height by the powers that be, we would soon be seeing a more-dynamic and exciting game, with a lot more space on the park.

Take the scrum. Let's get back to making the scrum what it is supposed to be. A scrum is a means of restarting a game following a break-down in play. It was never supposed to be what it has become – a means of winning penalties.

So, let's go back to the good old days, when penalties at scrum time were only awarded following a bout of fisticuffs involving the two packs. If one player or side offends, if he's from the side having the put-in – give the put-in to the opposition; if he's from the side which doesn't have the put-in, they concede a free-kick.

Let's sort-out the most-often-broken Law in the book, and INSIST on the scrum being formed within 30 seconds of being awarded. If either side isn't ready, and the onus here is mainly on the side with the put-in, then the opposition gets a free-kick.

At the top level – internationals and the leading leagues of full-time players, where TV coverage is normal, at scrum time, place either the drone camera or the camera on the wire directly above the front rows – so the TMO can advise the referee that all four props are pushing straight.

Of course, it goes without saying, we go back to INSISTING the scrum-halves feed the ball down the middle of the tunnel. [A wee aside here, might we consider adopting what happens in other sports: dropped pucks in ice hockey, throw-ups in basketball, that great Scottish stand-by, the fitba stoat-up, and have the referee feed the ball into scrums? After all these other set pieces I have mentioned are other sports' equivalent of a scrum.]

I would also consider prohibiting teams from holding the ball in the scrum and pushing the opposition backwards – other than within five metres of the opposition's try line. Pushover tries should still be an attacking weapon and celebrated; pushing on to win a penalty – no way.

We have also, over the years, not guarded the purity of the Laws of the game as seriously as other sports – such as golf.

Back in the day, I had a kidney removed, aged 19 and was advised to stop playing rugby. Well, for the first two or three years, I voluntarily dropped down to become my club's full-time first-team touch judge. In this role I learned a Law which was rigidly enforced, the thrower-in at a line-out had to have all his feet outside the touchline.

Fast forward half a century and hookers today more often than not, throw-in from at least one metre inside the touchline. They are nowadays allowed to have their feet on the line – since the actual line is deemed to be outside the pitch – but, you watch the next televised game. The hooker's heels will be on the inside edge of the touchline, so, when he throws, he lifts his heel and he is, in reality, inside the pitch.

It's not much, but, you try replacing your golf ball in the wrong spot before putting, and you'd better be ready for dog's abuse. Throwing-in from inside the pitch is cheating, and it isn't even very good cheating.

Another thing referees were red-hot on in my day was, kicking through the mark at a penalty. If you didn't do this, you lost possession. Today, the ref marks the spot where the penalty was conceded, which immediately becomes the starting point for the kicker's run-up, if he is kicking to touch. For some strange reason, the same liberties are seldom sought, nor taken with attempts at goal.

Of late, there have been infrequent sightings of referees saying: “enough” and punishing dissent by invoking Rugby's ten metres back protocol – about time too. Let's cut the back-chat and give the officials a modicum of respect.

So, let's try a season of properly policing and implementing the Laws. If that doesn't work, then we should adopt harsher measures and properly overhaul those Laws we find still aren't working.

You'll Get Into The Hall Of Fame - If Your Face Fits

THE SCOTTISH RUGBY UNION began 2022 by announcing the induction of Eric Liddell, former Scotland winger, Olympic Games gold medal winner and the subject of the iconic movie Chariots of Fire, into the Scottish Rugby Hall of Fame. Not before time, the induction marked the centenary of his Scotland debut, in Paris.

The men who play with odd-shaped balls have been inducting into their Hall of Fame in a somewhat piecemeal manner of late – Tom Smith, a former Scotland and Lions prop was inducted during the Autumn Internationals series, as was Oban Lorne's Dee Bradbury, the first lady to be President of a Tier One rugby nation, while a handful of former women internationalists were inducted to mark Women in Sport Week.

The Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductions are handled somewhat differently. OK nobody has been added to the 116 current members since 2019, Covid has meant the cancellation of the annual Induction Dinner, which, to me, is simply another opportunity for the so-called great and good of Scottish Football to get together for a wee swally, tell tall tales and kid themselves on that they matter in the game.

For me, the trouble with the Scottish Football Hall of Fame is twofold – the make-up of the Induction Committee, which for me has too-many fans with lap tops from a certain two Glasgow clubs, and not enough people with an appreciation of the glorious history of Scottish Football.

The inductees also include too-many from what we kid ourselves on was the Golden Age of the 1970s, and too-few from the real Golden Ages, before World War II.

For instance, The Lisbon Lions were, quite-rightly, inducted en bloc in 2017, however, Messers Jim Craig and Willie Wallace – the very same year, became the last two of that team to be personally inducted. If they were all in there anyway, what was the point of inducting the team? In any case, for me the entire team should have been inducted as one.

I would also induct, en bloc, the Rangers team which won the Cup-Winners Cup in Barcelona, and the Aberdeen team which won the same trophy in Gothenburg, although, in both cases several individual team members are already in there.

The benchmark for Scotland international team performances are the two 'Wembley Wizards' wins, of 1928 and 1967. Only three of the 1928 team are in the HoF – Hughie Gallacher, Alex James and Alan Morton, the trio who, had that team been numbered, would have worn numbers 8, 9 and 10. No sign of the other eight, who included Alec Jackson – who, lest we forget, scored three of our five goals – and skipper Jimmy McMullan, one of the greatest captains in our history.

Eight of the victorious 1967 team are in there, what have Eddie McCreadie, Ronnie McKinnon and Jim McCalliog done, to be outside looking in at their team mates on that great day?

International football today is a multi-billion £ industry, encompassing World Cups, European Championships, African Cup of Nations and the like. Yet the whole shebang was started, back in 1872 by England's Charles Allcock and Queen's Park's Bob Gardner. They might get away with not recognising Mr Allcock, who isn't Scottish, but, why isn't Gardner, (pictured below), our goalkeeper and captain, and therefore the first of the 1200 plus players to have represented Scotland in the past 150 years, in the Hall of Fame?

 

Quite a few Scotland team managers are in the Hall of Fame, but, one who isn't is Andy Roxburgh. Andy turns 79 next year, bus he is still heavily-involved in football as Technical Director with the Asian Football Confederation.

Who they, you might ask? Well, the AFC is Asia's equivalent of UEFA, From his office in Kuala Lumpur, Andy looks after coaching in 47 countries and, you can guarantee, whether or not Scotland qualifies for the World Cup in Qatar at the end of this year, Andy Roxburgh will be there, such is the esteem in which he is held all over the world – except for Scotland.

Another Scotland manager still awaiting induction is Ian McColl, he's just the manager with the best winning record – at a time when he didn't get to pick the side.

Rose Reilly and Julie Fleeting are in there to represent the ladies, but, there is a third Ayrshire lassie with an overwhelming case for induction – Kilmarnock's Elsie Cook. And, while I am pushing the case for people from God's County – Auchinleck Talbot's Willie Knox and Tucker Sloan, not to forget Mauchline's Victorian Galactico Dr John Smith, a man who scored goals for fun for Scotland back in the first Golden Age, and later was one of the first British Lions rugby tourists, to Australia and New Zealand.

He's got a better case for inclusion than some already in there – ten internationals, ten goals, including a hat-trick in a 6-1 win over England, in London, before becoming a leading referee.

And finally on this subject, Hughie McIlvanney – who isn't even the best writer in his family, is in there, but, no sign of Bob Crampsey.

Presumably, all being well, we will see the Induction Dinner reconstituted at the end of this year. I just hope, between then and now, the high heid yins who run the Hall of Fame will have a good hard look at their induction process, and who they put up for it. Quite honestly, Scottish football deserves better.

The 150^th anniversary of International Football will roll around on St Andrew's Day this year. That's usually around the time of the Induction Dinner, is it too-much to ask, they right a few past wrongs in this of all years?

England Got Professionalism Wrong - And It Is Starting To Show

THE UNSUSTAINABILITY of England's Gallagher Premiership is becoming more-obvious as this season progresses. I get the impression many of the other club owners adopted the stance of: “there but for the grace of God go I,” when Saracens' cavalier attitude to the salary rules came out. Now that Leicester are finding themselves in the smelly stuff, with historical practices at Welford Road being looked into, one or two other club benefactors might be feeling the chill of reality blowing.

Exeter, long viewed as one of the better-run clubs, have had to let two international locks, one of them a British Lion, depart Sandy Park, with England's Johnny Hill and Scotland's Sam Skinner leaving for Sale and Edinburgh respectively.

The Sandy Park club opened their new East Stand for their New Year's Day clash with Bristol Bears. This new stand increases the capacity of the ground to 15,000, a figure which, though impressive in club rugby, comes nowhere close to the capacity of the stadiums in the English football Premiership.

For all the valiant efforts of the BT Sport team to convince the public that the Gallagher Premiership is, like its football cousin: “The Best League In The world.” That's pish when the title is hung on the football competition, it is even-more-pungent pish when referencing the rugby competition.

Just look at the stadium capacities:

1. Ricoh Arena – Wasps – 32,609

2. Ashton Gate – Bristol Bears – 27,000

3. Welford Road – Leicester Tigers – 25,849

4. Brentford Stadium – London Irish – 17,250

5. Kingsholm – Gloucester – 16,115

6. Franklin's Gardens – Northampton Saints – 15,249

7. Sandy Park – Exeter – 15,000

8. Twickenham Stoop – Harlequins – 14,816

9. Recreation Ground – Bath – 14,500

10. Sixways – Worcester Warriors – 12,024

11. AJ Bell Stadium – Sale Sharks – 12,000

12. Stone X Stadium - Saracens – 10,550

13. Kingston Park – Newcastle Falcons – 10,200

These figures mean, the average capacity of a Gallagher Premiership stadium is 17,162. The average capacity of a Premiership football ground is 41,125 – more than twice as high. Therefore, it is all but impossible for top-flight professional rugby in England to have the same crowd appeal as football.

Thus, aping football's financial practices will not work, so, they have to try something else. Rugby does not support the free market economy in the same way as football does.

Saracens have been collared, now it looks as if Leicester are following them. Who will be next? I suspect it will be a lengthy and very-slow process, but, I feel the playing field may be being levelled-out.

I GOT it wrong, when I suggested Al Kellock had boobed in going public on asking the Exeter Chiefs fans to ditch the Native American head gear and their tomahawk chant when visiting Scotstoun.

I favoured asking Exeter nicely, by letters which would not be made public – appeal to their better nature. Watching the game from Sandy Park on Saturday, while we got few crowd shots, and I didn't detect any descendants of Sitting Bull or Crazy Horse in the crowd, the sound track did contain plenty of evidence of the so-called “Tomahawk Chant” still in use. But, given the stuff we hear week-in, week-out inside Scotland's football grounds – which has nothing to do with Scotland or Scottish football, who are we to get our sashes in a twist.

What I did see, during the Exeter v Bristol game, was further proof that England's Kyle Sinckler cannot scrum. I have been getting pelters from England fans in the btl comments section of The Guardian for months, for daring to suggest that neither Sinckler nor Ellis Genge can scrum properly.

How dare a “Sweatie” make such a suggestion, these players are England regulars, therefore, the best there is – that is the argument I get from infuriated Ruperts and Nigels.

Fact is, we have at the top end of the game, far-fewer scrums than we used to have, therefore, modern props haven't put in the heavy minutes and the hard yards of heaving of their predecessors.

Modern props are more ball carriers and impact runners than the “piano shifters” of old – and it shows in the deterioration of the scrum. I doubt very much that Sinckler and Genge has come anywhere close to 10,000 hours of scrum practice, they are still learning.

Probably the best English scrummaging prop at the moment is Joe Marler, and he has improved no end since coming under the wing of Adam Jones at Harlequins.

But, to return to Master Sinckler. I am quite looking forward to seeing what Pierre Schoeman does to him come Calcutta Cup day.

SPORTING Halls of Fame are one North American invention which I endorse on this side of the big pond. A sport which forgets where it came from, and the big names who helped that sport flourish, is a sport headed for disaster, in my view.

Therefore, I definitely praise the decision to induct Eric Liddell into the Scottish Rugby Hall of Fame, on the 100^th anniversary of his Scotland debut. Eric Liddell is one of the most-legendary Scottish sportsmen after all.

 But, and what a pity there has to be a but, recent inductions appear to have been happening on a piecemeal agenda – Liddell, before him Tom Smith, Dee Bradbury and the other ladies recently inducted.

What is wrong with having a big annual induction ceremony, with a set number of inductees each year?

That is how they do it in North America. Everyone connected with the sport knows when Induction Day will be, and their sporting press get to indulge themselves with a bit of pre-induction speculation, increasing the interest in that sport.

Mind you, properly selling Rugby Union is not a high priority with the current Murrayfield Junta, and a Media Department who would struggle to attract midges to a picnic on Skye.