Let's Boost This Wonderful Premiership

THERE is an impression that some of the hired hands inside Murrayfield are only interested in the two professional sides and the national sides. I have definitely never seen Scott Johnston at an RBS PRemiership game, for instance - although since I only rarely get sent to a game in Edinburgh, I might have missed him. That said, when I mentioned the vitality and entertainment value of the Premiership to him at the Macron kit launch, he had that glazed look in his eyes.

 

The Premiership is developing into a rather good competition. As things stand today, there are four clubs: Melrose, Gala, Heriot's and Ayr who have broken away at the top and seem set to conduct a season-long batle for the title. Edinburgh Accies are in close proximity, but, one-third of the way into the campaign, they are slightly off the pace.

 

The other seven clubs are, already, in what looks like being a season-long battle to avoid the drop. The thing is, any one of the 12 clubs is capable of, on any random day, hurting the others - which is great for Scottish rugby.

 

The trouble is, the mainstream Scottish media (the MSM) is obsessed with fitba, or to be more-precise, the old SPL, now re-branded, but no better, as the Scottish Premiership - the most one-sided competition in Europe.

 

With some 30 of the 38 games to go, and with due respect to league leaders Inverness CT, we all know, Celtic will win the league. I do not believe there is anyone in Melrose, or Gala, who truly believes their side will cruise on at the head of the RBS Premiership to take the title.

 

But, the competition is not getting the respect or recognition it deserves. What can we do about this?

 

Well, we could bombard the BBC high heid yins in Glasgow with protests. Not that that will do much good, they will probably respond pointing-out their commitment to professional rugby on BBC Alba and feel that is sufficient.

 

We could copy London into the protests, and scare the guys at Pacific Quay. However, to London, Scotland is a small, far-away country of which they know nothing.

 

What we could do, is become more-professional at club level. It doesn't help when you turn-up at a game to find that the second rows have switched numbers, for instance.

 

The clubs should be selling themselves better; we, the rugby media, should be badgering our sports desks to give us more space; and we should all, even the fans and ordinary club members, be writing to the BBC and to the MSM, saying - We Want More Rugby Coverage.

 

It will take time, but, together, we can do it.  

The Lisbon Lions Re-born

AM I alone in thinking Glasgow Warriors are rapidly becoming the Lisbon Lions of Scottish Rugby?

There is something uplifting about the way Toony's team go about their business in the Rabo. Their willingness to run the ball from behind their own line is refreshing. Sure, better teams than the Italians might well embarrass such enterprise on occasions, but, there can be no doubt, Glasgow has the backs to play an expansive and entertaining game.

One thing which did impress me in their beating Zebre was the play of Master Jackson at fly-half. Of course he makes mistakes, however, there is something about the play of his club coach in his ability to take the ball right-up to the tackler before off-loading it to good effect. The way he concentrates the minds of the back row makes it easier for his centres to make line breaks.

Stuart Hogg still seemed a little under-cooked, after his Lions exploits, but, last night, Sean Maitland hit the ground running - he looked exactly what he is, a top-flight player. I wondered about the length of time he took to get back playing, but, had forgotten, his last outing for the Lions came at the end of two full years of rugby without a break. He has now had that break and looks all the better for it.

Praise too for the Warriors' tight five. The new scrummage laws - although Dudley Phillips, like most Irish referees, is weak in his policing of it - have swung the pendulum in favour of technically-sound scrummagers, and, even without Ryan Grant, Gordon Reid is starting to show what a terrific prop he is at doing the basics; while Jon Welsh again impressed.

Then, when Jerry Yanuyanutawa and Moray Low came on, the Glasgow pack stayed solid. That said, things began to drift a wee bit when Big Al went off, we write-off the big man at our peril still.

Winning in Italy is a necessity if you are to harbour Rabo title ambitions. The performance tailed-off, but - it's a case of job done, next please.



ALAS and alack, things seem to be going from bad to worse across in Edinburgh. Let's face it, at club level, the Welsh really are not that good, while they travel as well as Belgian wine - so to lose as heavily as Edinburgh did last night. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear - tragedy for Scotland, as my old football frield David Francey might say.



STILL, on the brighter side, I'm off to Old Anniesland this afternoon for Hawks v Ayr. Melrose v Gala might well be the pick of tghe fixtures in the RBS Premiership, but, with Glasgow District bragging rights to be settled and some former Hawks returning in pink and black, this one should be a tasty encounter.

The hospitality at OA is never less than first-class, the atmosphere great, I am looking forward to a cracking afternoon.

We Need A Workable Long-Term Professional Plan For Scottish Rugby

GIVEN his age, I don't really see Alan Solomons as being a long-term acquisition for Edinburgh Rugby. I might be wrong, he could go on for as long as Sir Alex Ferguson in football - but I cannot see him still coaching Edinburgh past his 65th birthday.

 

Which means, he's probably in there as a short-term fix. Is this the correct way forward for professional rugby in the capital?

 

Murrayfield has made mistake after mistake in how it has run the game in Scotland since professionalism came in in 1995 - 18 years ago in case you haven't noticed. We are now recruiting the second generation of professional rugby players in Scotland, and still we haven't come up with a solution which, if such a thing is possible, suits all parties.

 

Some things have been done properly. I honestly believe, like Scottish football, Scottish rugby can only afford two big teams. That said, perhaps Creamy, Hughie McLeod, Derek Grant, The White Shark, Johnny Rudd and Jim Aitken should have been locked in a room within Murrayfield and told not to come out until they had hatched a plan which they could sell to the rest of the Borders for a Borders team which had the backing of each separate toon.

 

A sort of Travelling Wilberries, incorporating the best of the Borders players, but without a set base and with a sort of old-fashioned Hawick management approach - where the clubs set-aside their individual interests for the guid o' the toon (or in this case the region) would work and broaden the player base.

 

The same sort of approach just might concentrate minds wonderfully within Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen - hey presto, suddenly we would have lots of good Scottish players and would not be so-dependant on foreign  imports.

 

We have to grow the game in Scotland to survive. I appreciate rugby rather than football is THE game in New Zealand; but, if we learn from how they work and implement a long-term strategy, we can thrive and grow.

 

EDINBURGH'S biggest problem, other than the mental ones, which are, I assume, being worked on, is the lack of a competent number 10. I still feel one or other of Jackson or Weir should be transferred to the capital club as a matter of urgency, or, failing that, the boy at Bath should be brought home. With the right playmaker, the Edinburgh backs would thrive.

 

 

A Big Job - Yes; But, Are Solomons' Methods The Best For Scottish Rugby?

IF Alan Solomons was unaware of exactly how big a rebuilding job he was taking on at Edinburgh - well, he kens noo. Beating the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium was never going to be easy, but, to lose that heavily to a team which, for all the talent at their coach's disposal, tends to blow hot and cold in the bread and butter games - well, that was bad.

 

I am not, therefore, surprised, that Mr Solomons has gone back to his old club in South Africa and brought in a few tried and trusted players with whom he has worked before. However, is this what Edinburgh needs right now?

 

The two professional sides have always, to me and I think, to most of the Scottish rugby community, as a half-way house between the club game and the international one. Given our paucity of playing numbers and consequently of top-class talent: it makes sense to have most of our eggs in two baskets, as it were; getting used to playing together, to a pattern which will be carried-on into the national side.

 

Of course, since it is Murrayfield which is implementing this management plan - they've got it wrong from the word go. There has been too-much central control over some things, not enough over others and, in consequence, we have still to find a professional pattern which works in a Scottish context.

 

Bringing in a clutch of hard-nosed Saffers just might bring about better results for Edinburgh. However, this does not guarantee that Scotland will have the strength-in-depth we will need to win the Six Nations. Bringing-in a bunch of big Saffers, might get Edinburgh up the Rabo Pro12 table - it does not guarantee a good run in Europe.

 

Better perhaps if Mr Solomons and his men, particularly the under-performing players, put in the additional skills and mental attitude preparation which will lift them out of their current slough. Turning Edinnburgh around is a long rather than short-term problem.

 

 

 

I SEE the Anglo-French club attack on the Heineken Cup continues unabated. I am not too-worried about the RFU's seeming inability to stand-up to their clubs; I am sure, once they realise that the Celtic fringe, while willing to discuss changes to the Heineken qualification rules - I mean, can anyone justify automatic Heineken places for both Scottish sides, given their comparative current league form; the Amlin Cup is surely more Edinburgh's current level - will only countenance such discussions at inter-Union rather than inter-club level, and they had better defer to the RFU on this one; then, we can make progress.

 

Deep down, the French don't really trust Perfidious Albion and will be loath to do everything the English clubs want them to. That said, my main worry is, as ever, the Welsh. Fortunately, their finances are almost as perilous as ours, so, this time, they may not go to their default position of huffing and puffing, then doing exactly what England wants and expects.

 

When you see the dog's dinner which football's once magnificent European Cup competition has become since it became the greed is good, "Champions League", you have to hope and trust that the Unions stand firm.

 

After all, the English Rugby Premiership is merely another general financial collapse away from going under, with so-many clubs in hock to single corporate benefactors, who will, should hard times happen, look after number one and let their clubs suffer.

 

 

 

FINALLY today. Isn't it about time real pressure was put on the mainstream media in Scotland to get the magnificent RBS Premiership a bit of a higher profile. Unlike its football namesake, our Premiership is a genuinely entertaining and close-fought competition.

 

We all know that Celtic will win the Scottish Football Premiership this year, next year and probably the year after - this assumes Rangers come back as they were before. We cannot at this stage say who will win the RBS Premiership; what with five points separating the top five clubs.

 

Edinburgh Accies v Melrose was a cracker on Saturday; as, apparently were Aberdeen v Ayr, Gala v Hawick  and Stirling County v Hawks. There are further potential belters to come this weekend too. Add the sheer entertainment value currently on offer around Scotstoun and Scottish domestic rugby deserves more coverage than it is getting.

 

I have said before, an alternative Lallans commentary on the BBC Alba coverage of the Pro12 would be no bad thing - more Scots would understand it and higher fgures would ensue. We'll never wean the Teuchters off shinty in any case.

Can Henning Tippe The Balance?

I MUST admit, my first thought when I saw the name Tippe Henning was - Tippe Who? This was followed by: what has Tipi Hendren got to do with rugby and why was her name mis-spelled?

 

Aye well - ah ken noo. Mr Henning is a South African refereeing "guru" - who has been charged with getting our referees through the glass ceiling into the top flight of international referees. Not before time too. For too long our referees have been treated like second-class citizens by the IRB. They still are (just a thought, in his position as Honch of the IRB's refereeing committee - should not JJ - aka the White Shark - be biting a few bums to get Scottish whistlers appointed.

 

After all, we have to put up with some gie useless Welsh and Irish whistlers in the Rabo Pro12, and in internaitonals.

 

I know I have been hard on some Scottish officials working in the RBS Premiership, but, over the past couple of seasons, I have seen a definite rise in domestic standards and I am sure, with a hard nosed Saffar in charge, our referees will, like Edinburgh, in somewhat similar circumstances, soon begin to recover.

 

It is too-long since we have had absolutely top-drawer officials such as Messrs Hosie, Sansum and Fleming operating out of Scotland.

I WATCHED the highlights of the weekend's Aviva Premiership matches on ITV4 last night. I don't see the English league as being any better than the Rabo. The top English sides might have more depth of playing pools, but, as the television programme demonstrated - they've got a few guys in there who truly seem to have mince for brains.

Once the Rabo gets regular Sky exposure, I can see that league's credentials being even more appreciated beyond the Celtic fringe. Warriors' crowds are up, the team is flying, Edinburgh are beginning the long haul back to parity with their near-neighbours, I see a bright future coming.

 

The All Blacks Are Still The Benchmark

SO, there I was, on Saturday morning, e-mailing my mate in New Zealand, raving about Glasgow's resilience in coming from behind to beat Ulster in Belfast. Unabashed, back he came with the retort - forget that, just get a look at the ABs v Boks game.

 

Trumped again, for all our liking for unlikely Glasgow wins such as Friday's, we have to accept - when the ABs and the Boks knock heads, it's rugby from a different galaxy.

 

Poor old Mr Poite has been getting it in the neck for his double yellow-carding of Bismark Du Plessis - I still haven't seen the footage, too-busy elsewhere, but, Bismark does have previous in pushing the envelope of what is and isn't acceptable; so, by the law of averages, he has to pick up the odd heavy yellow card.

 

However, to finish with 13 men and still win, again underlines just why the Blacks are the benchmark against which every other team is measured. No McCaw, Carter crocked, a man down - they won. Respect.

 

 

 

MEANWHILE, Saturday took me to Old Anniesland for the Hawks' game against Gala. This was an absolute classic, believe me. Ten tries, some of them pearlers, total commitment from both sides, this was all you could ask for from club rugby.

 

There was a wee bit of an under-current, with Gala passing on the chance to field some of their drafted pro players, while Hawks got that wee bit extra out of their draftees - Scott Wight, Finlay Gillies and Jon Welsh.

 

That said, Hawks are quickly adapting to the extra needs of the Premiership; Ally McLay is doing a great on-field coaching job at inside centre, they have some very promising kids and, they are fit - very fit, as they showed to salvage a draw at the death.

 

For Gala, Ewan Scott is doing a fine job in replacing the now London Scot, Lee Millar, from the kicking tee, while George Graham Junior worked a great line-out ploy for Chris Weir's fourth Gala try - one which looked to have won the day for the visitors.

 

Also, both three-quarter lines, particularly Gala's ran some great lines in attack. Much to admire and enjoy about this game.

 

Looking ahead, some of the Braw Men - they were a wee bit long in the tooth to be Braw Lads, were concerned when they heard the half-time score between Melrose and Hawick. They want a good crowd on Saturday when the Teris make the short trip up the road for what has long been THE  Border Derby, but didn't exactly fancy the Greens coming calling on the back of having beaten Melrose. So, they were a lot happier at the end.

 

This season's Premiership is shaping up to be a cracker. Ayr are on the wane and face a really difficult task in retaining their crown; Melrose are managing to conjour-up wins from potentially losing positions, while Gala are developing the annoying habit - not least for George Graham - of failing to close-out games from sinning positions.

 

Currie are already struggling, hardly surprising for a team in transition, but, otherwise, you could throw a blanket over the sides. The title battle may well go right to the wire this season, which is great for Scottish Rugby.

Should Glasgow Sign Jesse James? After Friday, Do They Need Him?

AFTER watching Glasgow beat Ulster on BBC Alba last night, I can only suggest there is a design fault on the new Macron kit - they forgot the Western bank robber-style masks.

 

If ever a team was mugged it was Ulster. When Moray Low had another of his too-frequent rushes of shite to his tiny brain and got himself yellow-carded, I thought: "Oh shit! We're deid noo."

 

But then big James Eddie - surely the most-under-rated pro player in the land, scored that very late try and Hoggie kept the heid to convert for an unbelievable win - rapture.

 

To be honest, Ulster should be on bread and water and double training all week after losing that one. Ravenhill is a hugely-difficult place to go to to win, so, hats off to Glasgow, but, Ulster lost that one rather than Glasgow winning it.

 

However, it is such unlikely victories and the ability to conjour them up which is the difference between winning a title and a hard luck but well done story.

 

And, good it was too to see Edinburgh snatch another late win at the expense of the Dragons. The Newport boys are never going to win the Rabo, but, as I used to say about the old Clydebank FC in the second tier of Scottish football. If you cannot beat them, you've got problems; and, the Dragons do have a track record when it comes to de-stabilising Scottish ambitions.

 

Alan Solomons knows turning around Edinburgh will be a long haul,he needs time and patience, but, he will, I am sure, get there and, it was good to see Harry Leonard do the business last night.

 

To return to Glasgow and Hoggie. He was a bit quiet last night, easing himself back in. I know he wanted to have a run out with Ayr against Currie last week, but Toony vetoed the plan.

 

I know there is a fine line between risk-taking and properly managing prized assets, and Al Kellock's misfortune against Cardiff again underlined the ever-present danger of injury, however, I feel, had Hoggie and Grantie had the chance to ease themselves back into action in the Premiership, they might have hit the ground running rather than jogging, at Ravenhill.