Time For Some Innovative Thinking Inside Murrayfield

REMEMBER the early days of Gregor Townsend's reign as Scotland Head Coach; all that optimistic talk of playing the fastest rugby in the world. Well reality intervened and, more-so since the honcho from Gala appears to be having what is known in the rock music business as “creative differences” with front man Finn Russell and lead guitarist Stuart Hogg, that wish for free-flowing riffing appears to have been replaced by a sort of Victor Silvester strict tempo play.

OK, before you decide: “The old bugger's flipped again” and switch quickly to The Offside Line, bear with me – all will become clear. Remember how it was when Toony was in-charge at Scotstoun and Glasgow Warriors, with Leone Nakarawa and Niko Matawalu in the van, used to go “coast-to-coast” on a regular basis, scoring epic tries which often began behind their own line.

Yes, I appreciate the “Weegies frae Fiji” are no longer on the Warriors' roster, but, they weren't the only ones who could off-load, support run and score breathtaking tries. I just feel, the coaching encouragement which brought us those glorious times has been lost. Toony no longer asks his Scotland side to try the things he used to encourage his Warriors to attempt – and his successors at Scotstoun appear to have gone back to almost “rugby by numbers” - with ball carriers seemingly encouraged to take contact, set-up rucks and mauls and attack from set-pieces, rather than attempting flowing, ball retaining handling rugby from anywhere.

The problem appears to be spreading. Week Two of the FOSROC SUPER6 competition was a case in point. Certainly, in the Watsonians v Ayrshire Bulls match, the meeting of arguably the two best sides in the competition, there were passages where both sides indulged in off-loading and we saw some great inter-play. But, both at Myreside and in the other two matches, such passages were few and far between, and much of what we saw, while at almost full-time levels of physicality, and was a terrific example of defensive effort, was mundane, perhaps over-coached rugby by numbers.

I get the impression, because the SRU Professional and Performance Departments are so centralised – the Union either totally owns or has a controlling financial interest in the two full-time professional and six semi-professional teams, the playing style is being dictated from inside EH12.

Rugby Union is not like Association Football. In “The Beautiful Game,” coaches have more choice in how they set-up their team. Some play 4-4-2, others 4-2-4, 4-3-3, 3-4-3, 4-2-2-1-1 etc. Even today, some 70 years since any team last played in this formation, teams are published in 2-3-5 formation. That's two full-backs, three half-backs and five forwards.

I was born in February, 1947 – the first Scotland football team of my lifetime was the one which faced England, at Wembley, on 12 April, 1947: Willie Miller (Celtic); George Young, Jock Shaw (both Rangers); Archie McAuley (Brentford), Willie Woodburn (Rangers), Alex Forbes (Sheffield United); Gordon Smith (Hibernian), Andy McLaren (Preston North End), Jimmy Delaney (Manchester United), Billy Steel (Greenock Morton), Tommy Pearson (Newcastle United).

That's the way it was read-out after the SFA Selectors picked it. However, on the day it lined-up: Miller; Young, Woodburn, Shaw; McLaren, McAuley, Steel, Forbes; Smith, Pearson; Delaney. That's 3-4-2-1 rather than 3-5-2. That's the formation Scotland played up until the mid-1960s: the guys wearing shirts numbers 2, 3 and 5 remained at the back; numbers 4, 6, 8 and 10 operated as box-to-box midfielders, numbers 7 and 11 played in an advanced role on the wings with number 9 as a traditional old-style centre forward, up front.

Then, around 1964 or thereabouts, one or other of the guys wearing 4 or 6 dropped back to become a twin centre-half, at the same time the wingers began to be re-classified as “midfielders” while generally the guy wearing number 10 began to play “in the hole” as a slightly withdrawn, second centre forward.

By the time we posted that epic Wembley win over the Auld Enemy in 1967, things were tweaked again. Bobby Brown may have announced his team as: Simpson, Gemmell, McCreadie; Greig, McKinnon, Baxter; Wallace, Bremner, McCalliog, Law, Lennox, but, they actually lined-up: Simpson, Gemmell, McKinnon, Greig, McCreadie; Baxter; Wallace, Bremner, McCalliog, Lennox; Law. Subtle changes, but, they worked.

To come right up to date, the last Scotland team to take the field, the XI which beat Armenia 4-1 back in June, was published as: Craig Gordon (Heart of Midlothian); Nathan Patterson (Everton), Greg Taylor (Celtic); Scott McTominay (Manchester United), Greg Hanley (Norwich City), Jack Hendry (Club Brugge); John McGinn (Aston Villa), Billy Gilmour (Chelsea/Norwich City), Che Adams (Southampton), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Stuart Armstrong (Southampton). That's how it was announced, but, the actual formation was: Gordon; McTominay, Hanley, Hendry; Patterson, McGinn, Gilmour, Taylor; McGregor, Armstrong; Adams.

Now look at Rugby Union in my lifetime. The first Scotland team of my life was the one which lost 5-24 to England in the Calcutta Cup clash on 15 March, 1947. This team was announced as: KI Geddes; TGH Jackson (both London Scottish); CW Drummond (Melrose), WH Munro (Glasgow High School FP), DD Mackenzie (Edinburgh University); CR Bruce (Glasgow Academical), E Anderson (Stewart's College FP); TPL McGlashan (Royal High School FP), AT Fisher (Waterloo), HH Campbell (London Scottish); FH Coutts (The Army), IC Henderson (Edinburgh Academical-Wanderers); DD Valentine (Hawick), DI McLean (Royal High School FP), WID Elliot (Edinburgh Academical-Wanderers). The team, in that order, wore numbers 1-15, but lined-up: full-back; winger, centre, centre, winger; stand-off, scrum-half; loose-head, hooker, tight-head; lock, lock, wing-forward, number eight, wing-forward.

The last Scotland team to take the field, the one which lost to Argentina on Saturday, 16 July, was: Ollie Smith; Rufus McLean (both Glasgow Warriors), Mark Bennett (Edinburgh Rugby), Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors) Duhan van der Merwe (Worcester Warriors); Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh Rugby), Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors); Rory Sutherland (Worcester Warriors), Ewan Ashman (Sale Sharks), Zander Fagerson; Scott Cummings (both Glasgow Warriors), Jonny Gray (Exeter Chiefs); Rory Darge (Glasgow Warriors), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby), Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors).

The team, in that order had Smith wearing 15, then in descending order to Price wearing 9, then Sutherland to Matt Fagerson wore numbers 1 to 8. The numbering may have changed but, the only other difference was the back row was named: wing-forward, wing-forward, number eight.

This reflects the slight deck chair reshuffling over the past 75 tears. Back in the immediate post-war years, there was still a presumption that the Scotland pack would line-up in 3-2-3 formation. The great argument between 3-2-3 and 3-4-1 was still a decade away, before even the arch-traditionalists such as Lord Bannerman had to concede to 3-4-1.

Today too, we have increased specialisation – the centres tend to line-up inside (12) and outside (13), props who can work on either side of the scrum are prized for their rarity and versatility, while wing-forwards, like centres, no longer appear to pack down left or right, but as blind side (6) and open-side (7).

Common sense today might suggest the forwards should be numbered as they pack down: 1-2-3; 4-5-6-7; 8. However, they are still more or less numbered as if 3-2-3 remains the formation of choice.

Obviously, Rugby Union is a more-structured form of football than the free-flowing Association variety; our game has never been prey to the tactical innovations and occasional out of the box thinking of football.

OK, occasionally you will see the full-back, rather than the stand-off as first receiver, and we have wing-in incursions at odd times and angles. Yes, Scotland, under Toony, have demonstrated some innovative thinking at the lines-out, but, other than asking why the ball carriers attacked defenders rather than space, I doubt if any of the 1947 Scotland rugby team, recalled from that great pavilion in the sky, would be unable to work out what was going on on the modern field.

The 1947 footballers, in a similarly hypothetical situation, having to have “sweeper-keepers” - “pressing” - “false nines” and “wing backs” explained to them, might well be asking: “what game is this I am watching?”

[LEFT FIELD THINKING ALERT]: I am told packing 3-2-3 was essential for Scotland to launch their famed forwards' foot rushes, as the cry of “Feet Scotland, feet,” reverberated around the great open bowl of post-war Murrayfield. I've been following Scotland since the 1955 win over Wales, in “Arthur Smith's Match.” I cannot recall an old-fashioned Scottish foot rush in all that time, but, I understand, from speaking to some now departed old timers, when done properly – and the forwards of the time practised it religiously, it was a deadly ploy.

Maybe the SRU could look out some grainy old sepia-toned film, study it and bring the foot rush out of retirement and right up to date. As a shock tactic it might work.

I might be talking out of my erse with this dissertation on “Feet Scotland, feet,” or, on the other hand, I might be on to something. Let's see some innovative thinking coming out of Murrayfield, it might be good for Scottish Rugby. To reference the old Avis Car Rental advert. They admitted, they were not as big as arch-rivals Hertz, but, they did promise to try harder.

Trying harder might be a good place for Scotland to start from.

 

What Can We Do About University Rugby?

WHEN I was a young man and Rugby Union was a simpler, more-fun, amateur game, Scotland's universities were in the room when it came to the club game: Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities were involved in the Unofficial Championship, while Aberdeen and St Andrew's Universities were almost as good. At a lesser level, club sides regularly faced the likes of Strathclyde, Dundee and Heriot-Watt, or the Royal Dick Vet School.

Today, Scotland's seats of higher education are seldom seen in a run-down of the league tables. Yes, a few universities still play, while various faculties of medicine still put out teams in the regional leagues. However, the bulk of our universities and colleges now, if they offer Rugby Union at all to their students, do so via BUCS – THE BRITISH UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES SPORTS.

The BUCS matches are normally played on a Wednesday afternoon, and, in Rugby Union, they have leagues and cup competitions to suit all levels. I signed-up for the BUCS Play app, which tells you what will be going on when the students return in the autumn, and things get underway, starting on 26 October.

First the good news; if you are going to university and want to play rugby – there's a lot out there in Scotland. The following institutions offer the game to their students, as follows:

Aberdeen University – 3 Men's teams

Abertay University – 2 Men's, 1 Women's team

Borders College – 1 Women's team

Dundee University – 3 Men's team, 1 Women's team

Edinburgh University – 4 Men's teams, 2 Women's teams

Edinburgh Napier University – 2 Men's teams, 1 Women's teams

Glasgow Caledonian University – 1 Men's team

University of Glasgow – 3 Men's teams, 1 Women's team

Heriot Watt University – 3 Men's teams, 1 Women's team

Queen Margaret University – 1 Men's team, 1 Women's team

Robert Gordon's University – 2 Men's teams, 1 Women's team

St Andrew's University – 3 Men's teams, 1 Women's team

Stirling University – 3 Men's teams, 1 Women's team

University of Strathclyde – 3 Men's teams, 1 Women's team

University of the West of Scotland – 1 Men's team.

That's 15 higher education institutions, registered to play in BUCS competitions this season, involving 33 Men's teams and 13 Women's teams.

The highest level of University Rugby Union is the BUCS Super Rugby League. The participants last season were: Durham, Exeter, Cardiff Met, Loughborough, Swansea, Cardiff, Hartpury, Leeds Beckett, Bath and Northumbria.

No Scottish presence, but Edinburgh were in the next tier down, National Premier (North/South 1), with St Andrew's and Strathclyde in the next league down again - National Premier (North/South 2).

There isn't as yet a Super Rugby League for Women, but, Edinburgh Women do feature in the top Women's league – Women's National Premier.

Below these elite national competitions, there are four Scottish Leagues for Men and two for Women, the not so good news is, not every Scottish team that has registered appears to be playing in the leagues.

As things stand, only 27 of the 33 registered Men's teams are down to play in the leagues, along with 12 of the 13 Women's teams. However, this might change once the students are actually back.

If we take it that each team has a squad of 20 players, that gives us a Scottish rugby-playing population from our full-time student population of 660 Men and 260 Women. While there is room for additional knock-out games, the teams in the various Scottish Leagues will play a maximum of 10 games.

The latest figures I could find for full-time students in higher education in Scotland was 307,215, that was from 2020, so I don't think that will be too-far from the 2022 figures. So, all these students, and only 0.3% are playing student rugby – surely we can do better than that?

I cannot help but think, if we lose a lot of players, who drop-out on leaving school, and the difficulty of competing with adults is seen as one of the reasons for this drop-out rate – surely university and college rugby, where they will tend to be playing against players of their own age and experience should be a good way of keeping younger players involved.

Very few players in university and college rugby will be older than 22 or 23, so the playing field should be a lot more level for younger players – should not the SRU be doing more to encourage university rugby? Or is there a presumption of being more-favourable towards getting younger adult players to play for their club? It's a thorny problem.

When the FOSROC Super6 started, much was made of tie-ins between the six teams and a seat of higher education.

Ayrshire Bulls were linked to the University of West of Scotland's Craigie Campus, indeed, their office was located within the main university building. Boroughmuir Bears had a partnership with Edinburgh Napier University, Stirling Wolves with The University of Stirling and Southern Knights had a tie-in with one of the other Edinburgh seats of learning, I cannot remember which.

Today, the Bulls', Bears' and Wolves still acknowledge these partnerships, but, there is no sign of any such tie-in for the Knights, while Heriot's and Watsonians clearly never felt the need for such partnerships. I appreciate it might not help my bit further up this post about encouraging university rugby, but, might such partnerships be mutually beneficial?

Stirling University's football team plays in the Lowland League – that's Tier Five in Scottish football. They also play in the top tier of the BUCS football competition. So, during their season, on Wednesdays, they are facing the likes of Durham, Loughborough, Newcastle, Nottingham and Nottingham Trent, on Saturdays, they are facing the likes of: Rangers B, Celtic B, Hearts B, Cowdenbeath and Spartans.

Might not it be worth while encouraging such a set-up in rugby?

One of the drawbacks I have often seen mentioned around young player development in S6 is the fact – the players are only playing against the same small number of opponents each season. The original hope was that, with cross-border fixtures against the top Welsh clubs, the young players would be exposed to a different, potentially tougher challenge. Sadly, this hasn't happened yet, and some are now suggesting it never will.

If the SRU cannot get cross-border fixtures, either against the Welsh, or the Welsh and Irish, or even – a restoration of the old British and Irish Cup, then finding some way of using the tie-ins with the universities, to get Scottish University sides competing in or close to BUCS Super Rugby, just might become a necessity for young player development.

OR, what about working towards declaring S6 to be mainly an Under-23 competition, so that say 66% - 70% of every match day squad had to be under that age and Scotland Qualified?

FINALLY – I got a wee bit of a telling-off this week, from SRU vice-presidential hopeful Keith Wallace. Apparently, I owe him for a computer keyboard clean-up after he read my line about it maybe would be better for The Junta to have Keith: “In the tent pishing oot,” rather than where he has been these past few years: “Oot o' the tent, pishing in.”

Keith was telling me, in the course of his election campaign, he has spoken to representatives of well over 100 clubs, and had to hear some stories of the many and varied problems these clubs are facing. He is now, more-aware than ever of the challenges facing our club game.

Or, as Keith himself said: “My fear is, if I do get into the tent, I will find myself wading through a deep pool of pish.”

Aye Keith, that's a concern which I share.

 

A Final Look At The Commonwealth Games - Then Back To Rugby

IT WAS only slightly about rugby, with the Sevens being one of the main team events, but, bear with me as I diverse into delivering a few thoughts on the Commonwealth Games, which have now toddled off our television screens.

Yes, the television coverage – always a sore point to we ungrateful “Sweaties,” who take exception to the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation's usual inability to differentiate between England and the whole of the United Kingdom.

Some 50 years ago, the late Marty Feldman came up with a sketch, in which he, dressed as David Coleman, commentated on an England v Uruguay football match. Have a look at it on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpA8Og-MsPE

The genius that was Mr Feldman is, I would suggest, only slightly more-biased than some of today's real BBC commentators. The neutrality and balance of such as Bill McLaren, Dan Maskell and Peter Allis is sadly, only remembered by old farts such as I. To become a BBC commentator today, particularly in a "minority sport,” you have to be an England fan with a microphone.

The BBC coverage also, for my money, offered too-much of the studio talking heads, even oor ain wee Hazel Irvine and the always excellent Michael Johnson, and the Cram/Cotter/Backley specialists and not enough action. For the athletics, I switched to the iplayer feed, just athletics specialists, who know their stuff.

One of the strengths of the CG is – instead of one Team GB, the competitors from the various islands and parts of the British Isles get to compete for more-localised teams. In the Olympic Games, if the top three competitors are from England, they get picked for Team GB, at the Comms, the supposed lesser Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh athletes get a chance on the big stage. They regularly take that chance to embarrass the English favourite.

An interesting statistic from Birmingham, by the way – the medals won, per head of population for the four integral parts of the United Kingdom were:

1. Northern Ireland – 1 medal for every 104,722 of population

2. Scotland – 1 medal for every 107,844 of population

3. Wales – 1 medal for every 112,000 of population

4. England – 1 medal for every 312,500 of population.

That said, when it comes to a part of the British Isles punching above its weight, take a bow Guernsey, population: 63,400; they took away two medals, one for every 31,700 inhabitants.

 

Highlights:

1. Obviously, the Eilish McColgan gold medal – floods of tears in this house as she crossed the line.

2. Laura Muir's gold medal – vindication at last.

3. Laura Kenny's win. What that lassie's been through of late, a true champion – and well done Neah Evans of Scotland for leading her out.

4. The Men's Road Race. I never thought either of the Scottish boys in the lead group had the X-factor it would take to win it, and I was hoping Geraint Thomas could hold on, but, what a finish by the Kiwi, and an unexpected bronze for Scotland as a bonus.

5. The Pakistani guy winning the javelin, with an injured elbow.

6. That Zambian kid pipping Matt Hudson-Smith on the line in the 400 metres. Once he learns to pace himself, he'll be some athlete.

7. Duncan Scott – he just keeps delivering for Scotland and for Team GB.

8. James Heatly winning gold – I bet in that great diving pool in the sky, his grand-father is well chuffed.

9. The sheer delight on the face of Welsh girl Livi Breen when she won her unexpected gold.

10. The women's T.20 cricket – I really enjoyed watching it.

Finally, I am rather indifferent to the Royal Family. Yes, there is something unfair about hereditary rulers and the whole Establishment system stinks. But, we do have relative stability in the way most (Andy and Harry apart) conduct themselves as a conduit for the best of British values.

Eddie, the Earl of Wessex, has seemingly been given the CG as his special interest and he brought the necessary gravitas and dignity to the closing ceremony. As long as Charlie, Eddie and Anne are around, “The Firm” has a chance of surviving, but, I reckon, by the time William and Catherine take over, he really will be, merely King of England. The rest of us will have shot the craw.

To get back to rugby. The expectation seems to be, that with the RFU, SRU and WRU combining to run the Sevens campaign in the World Rugby/HSBC circuit and at the Olympics, the RFU will take the lead and it will be run from Twickenham.

Let's hope this doesn't happen; Scotland's women finished top of the three nations in Birmingham, while there was nothing at all between the English and Scottish men. I hope the two Celtic cousins can put the kybosh on the programme becoming a “Greater England” one.

How about, with the permission of the Irish, making the Sevens a British Lions programme? Mind you, I still hope to live long enough to see an independent Scotland performing at a future Olympics.

SINCE this is a rugby blog, I suppose I should mention the game a little. The SRU AGM, or at least part one thereoff, is coming up fast on the other track. We will not have the finalised accounts, so I can hold back on that until part two.

There will be a lot of interest in the election of the new vice president, with incumbent Colin Rigby stepping up to replace the excellent Ian Barr in the top job. The candidates are Hazel Swankie, the first lady of Fife rugby, and Haddington's own Keith Wallace.

This is seen as Hazel being the Establishment choice, a safe pair of hands who has served an apprenticeship on the Council. Keith on the other hand is a long-standing thorn in Murrayfield's side, and the Outsider.

For my money, either would do a sterling job as VP and later in the top job, picking which one will get the gig will not be easy. I will say this, from my position on the fence – perhaps the Junta should be thinking, is it better to have a critic outside the tent pishing in, or inside the tent pishing out?

Super Six Is Back - An Alternative To The English Games

FRIDAY NIGHT'S FOSROC Super6 opener between Ayrshire Bulls and Heriot's was a refreshing antidote to the almost Last Night of the Proms, there'll always be an England jingoism of the BBC's Commonwealth Games coverage. The coverage was a bit haund-knitted and pairritch and auld claes in comparison to what we get from Mrs Logan, Mesdames Balding and Irvine and Oor Andra and Wur Steve, but, Chris Paterson and Jamie Lyall gave it a good go on Free Sports.

The return of Pat McArthur to Bulls' Head Coach role, plus some judicious tinkering with the squad, produced a five tries home win. However, the victory was built on the defensive excellence on which the Millbrae coach has always insisted – that seven-minute defensive set after Thomas Glendinning was yellow-carded for a tip tackle was the passage of play which which all but guaranteed the home win.

Had Heriot's scored during that spell of pressure, the final reckoning could well have been a lot different. Then, when Nails' skipper Ruaridh Leishman was also yellow-carded, the Bulls did what Heriot's had failed to do, made their one-man advantage count, and got the bonus point tries.

One of the major talking points to emerge from the late spring Super Six Sprint Series was the way several Tennent's Premiership players were offered a Super6 taster. I felt then, Marr's William Farquhar was one such player to have struggled to adapt. On Friday night, in a storming first half display, he showed he had buckled down and trained-on, giving Euan McLaren, for many the best tight-head in S6, a torrid evening. Another Bulls forward to impress was Ruaridh Jackson, the big boy from Bishopton producing a performance which suggested, he might be another in the long line of players cut too-soon from the professional ranks when his Academy contract wasn't converted into a full one.

Heriot's, I feel, are Scottish Rugby's equivalent of Rangers in recent years. There's a “We are the people” element about the club, an arrogance which suggests some within the club have this sense of entitlement which is not backed-up on the pitch. I feel they have been, and still are, too-loyal to some players who should maybe be re-directed to the Heriot's Blues squad rather than the S6 one, because – that's their level.

Speaking of which, that is my opinion on the level at which Ruaridh Campbell should be officiating. Yes, I know officiating isn't easy and the job isn't made any easier by some Laws which are not fit for purpose, but, while some of our younger officials have shown up well when given their shot at S6, I feel, on Friday night's evidence, Mr Campbell is not yet ready. Mind you, his wasn't the worst spot of officiating I witnessed that night – I suspect the TMO from the England v New Zealand women's hockey semi-final at Birmingham had England in the officials sweep – she certainly bent over backwards to give the home team some dubious favourable calls.

SINCE I finished my Bulls report with a severe critique of the referee, can I say, Ian Kenny and Johnny Perriam, who in turn were in-charge at Bridgehaugh and The Greenyards handled their games really well – in particular interacting well with the players and showing a fine regard for the spirit of the game.

As with the match at Millbrae, the two Saturday games had their scrappy moments, as the players worked the rust out of their systems. As a bumpkin from the wild west, I have a healthy disdain for the Edinburgh clubs, except Boroughmuir, whom I have always found to be a bunch of good guys. I was pleased therefore by some of the stuff they produced in winning at Stirling. A good win.

Already, it looks as if this is going to be a tough campaign for Southern Knights. They came into the campaign carrying a few injuries, and sustained a few more on Saturday evening. It must have been hard for Greenyards regulars to see the likes of Jason Baggot and Neil Irvine-Hess starring for the opposition, but, that appears to be present-day financial reality.

WE LOST a local legend this week, with the passing of Allan Davidson. Now the name might not mean much beyond Ayrshire, but wee Allan was one of the guys who founded Cumnock Rugby Club, and while business commitments took some of the other founding fathers away from oor wee dark corner of the East Ayrshire coalfield – Allan stayed.

He switched from first team scrum half, to second team player-coach, to refereeing, while giving many years of service off the field on the committee.

Memorably, he once tried to run-off a broken leg in a game at Dumfries, while he helped bring many youngsters to the club with the way he helped out at Cumnock Academy.

The Davidson family were legends at the school, Allan and George were stalwarts of the rugby and cricket teams, younger siblings Johnny and Jimmy were stars on the football field. Those of us who played with and were encouraged by Allan know, we, and Cumnock, have lost one of the very-best guys.

There was a double blow for oor wee club, with the passing also of Billy Jolly, a small but combative flanker during the club's early years. Billy definitely hit above his weight when it mattered. He is another who will be missed.

I should at this point also mark the passing of Old Speirians/Garnock legend Jock Clark, who trotted off to the great pavilion in the sky while I was taking a blogging break.

Jock was the son of BBC broadcasting legend Jamieson Clark, following his father into lengthy service with BBC Scotland, back in the days when it was a mouthpiece for Scotland, rather than, as now, a purveyor of Imperialist jingo.

He was a very-talented editor, working on BBC Scotland's domestic rugby coverage, back when they had Bill McLaren. Jock also gave sterling service and support to the Garnock club over many years and was a weel-kent face around Ayrshire rugby. My condolences to all at Lochshore at his passing.

 

And After That Short Break - It's Back To Maverick.

I AM old enough to remember the very-early days of television in Scotland. Watching the BBC, the only channel back then, on a Pye TV with a 10 inch screen. No 24-hour, multi-platform broadcasts back then, indeed, one of the highlights was the Interlude section between programmes. Of these, the potter's wheel section was much-liked, but, since the address on my birth certificate is: “Stableyard,” I preferred the film of horse-drawn ploughs turning over a field.

My reason for mentioning this much-loved old clip is – that interlude seemed to last longer than the close season break we have just gone through, prior to the return of competitive rugby, tonight, when Ayrshire Bulls and Heriot's lock horns in the opening FOSROC Super6 match.

As I have been insisting almost from the off in S6 – one of the principal reasons for the SRU going down the semi-professional path was money, the SRU went this way to try to save money. And, it's when you try to economise, that things tend to go awry.

Earlier this week I had a look at the Bulls' website. Their squad details are wrong, with players who have left the club still listed, and newcomers not listed. This is down to not having people delegated to pr and social media duties. There are a couple of retired media professionals aligned to the Alloway club, but, they are not being paid, far less paid enough to full-commit to getting it right – this shows and the club and S6 suffers as a result. Updating things the day before the first game – as Bulls have done – is leaving it a bit late. A couple of names in the squad for tonight's match are, even to Millbrae regulars, a case of: “Who him?”

Any way, I am looking forward to seeing Super Rugby thrive and grow this season, with, hopefully, cross-border games to look forward to in 2023.

MEANWHILE, Franco Smith has been unveiled as the new Head Coach of Glasgow Warriors, ending a lengthy spell of uncertainty since the departure of Danny Wilson.

I am disappointed that no suitable Scottish coach could have been identified for the vacancy, but am prepared to give Smith a chance to show what he can do. If he can halt the Glasgow propensity for falling out of games from a potentially winning position – that will be a good start.

Still, Smith has something of a reputation for bringing through young talent, which will hopefully pay-off at Scotstoun, where he has plenty of potential diamonds to polish.

Less satisfactory, I feel is the news of short-term deals at Scotstoun being accepted by Joel Hodgson and Lucio Sordoni, or Joel Who? And Lucio What? As I prefer to call them.

We should NOT being offering contracts to NSQ (Non-Scots Qualified) journeymen, when we have native Scots we should be promoting and giving their chance.

Also, I feel the club desperately needs a forwards specialist, other than the in-situ Alasdair Dickinson, who is a scrums specialist.

FINALLY, a wee moment to remember from the Commonwealth Games – Andrew Cotter asking a BBC staffer to get him one of the colouring books the organisers were giving out to kids attending the games.

Oor Andrew went to Marr College, so, if he is able to properly fill-in a colouring book, by Marr standards, that makes him gifted.

Speaking of Marr, I welcome the appointment of Tony Peters as the new president, succeeding the splendid Stephen Allam. Tony stood on a platform of Make Marr Great Again, I am already calling him President Trump.