Magnanimity And Dignity In Defeat Is Not The Scottish Way

MAGNANIMITY and dignity in victory and defeat, that isn't the Scottish way, unfortunately. No nation's victories are greater, or defeats worse, than those achieved/sustained by Scotland. If there is a slight light in the gloom, it's the knowledge that Scottish Rugby doesn't suffer this to the same degree as Scottish football.

So we will take Glasgow Warriors' thumping at Exeter on Saturday afternoon on the chin and move on. Glasgow were bad, but, as we have seen under Danny Wilson, the team struggles to find a consistent level of performance.

To complete a really bad day for the Scottish teams, Edinburgh lost to 14-man London Irish. That's Scottish sport for you – it never rains but it pours.

But, let's take our cue from The Monty Python Team and always look on the bright side of life – we could be in as bad a state as the England Cricket team. If Glasgow's last half hour at Sandy Park was bad, it wasn't nearly as bad as England's final session in Hobart. That was a really tough watch.

BEFORE the Glasgow game, I watched Ospreys v Racing 92; well, when you've got the chance to watch Finntastic weave his magic – you have to take it.

To be honest, we only got a 7/10 performance from the Gallus One, not everything he tried came off, but, he still played his part in Racing's win. In this game, he was mainly an enabler, allowing Gael Fickou, Virim Vakatawa and Teddy Thomas to come up with the memorable moments. But, he played his part, not least with that penalty from half-way, just at a moment when the points were necessary. Then there was the overlooked fact – it was Finn who scooped up, then in one movement fed-on a loose ball, from which Fickou put Vakatawa clear for a crucial try.

As I said, only a 7/10, which is the minimum he gets every week. The great thing about Finn, however, is, even when things aren't working – he never hides, he doesn't have a shell to retreat into. He keeps calling for the ball, he keeps trying things, safe in the knowledge – eventually, things will change and the magic will happen. We're very-lucky to have him.

RUGBY in Scotland is pretty-much a family affair. In every club, big or small, you will find brothers playing together – Brewster, Hastings, Horne, Milne etc. You find sons following father at a lot of clubs, indeed, many fathers keep playing simply so they can play alongside their sons for their local club.

It is also very much a generation game, with the same names cropping-up in different eras of any given club's history. Speaking of which, a wee milestone passed on Saturday at Millbrae, when young Jamie McLauchlan turned-in a Man of the Match performance, on his debut for the Ayr-Millbrae XV against Cartha-Queen's Park 2^nd XV, in a Tennent's West Reserve League Division One game at Millbrae.

McLauchlan is, of course, a famous Ayrshire rugby name, but, Jamie's link is through his Mammy, big Lou-Lou McLauchlan, the lady who will, when Mary Inglis is no longer with us, be the uncrowned Queen of Scottish Rugby.

An embarrassed Jamie McLauchlan is congratulated on his MOM performance by his Mum
 

Jamie follows Lou-Lou, Grandpa Big Eck Ecrepont and great-grandfather Eddie Ecrepont in being the fourth generation to have worn the pink and black hoops. An uncle, his grand-mother's brother Hughie Lyburn, was also a first XV player with the club, so, Ayr is in his blood.

WATCHING the weekend European action, I was struck by the differing approach of the BT Sport commentary team.

Referee – after lengthy consultation with the TMO and his assistants: “Clear contact to the head, no mitigation – red card.”

Commentators – if the player red-carded is French/South African/Georgian/Italian/Argentinian/a Pacific Islander/New Zealander: “Correct decision by the referee, he had no alternative, clear red card.”

If the red-carded player is Irish/Welsh/Scottish: “I can see why the referee reached that decision, he's been a bit unlucky there, but, by the way the Law is being interpreted these days – he unfortunately had to go.”

If the red-carded player is English: “Terrible decision, we have to look at this interpretation, and the Law does say Red Card, but, for me this is bad law and that was never a sending-off.”

Austin Healey when an English player is red-carded: “Disgraceful decision, totally wrong, the opposition player should be sent off for simulating injury, it's getting like football.”

A Warriors Win Tonight Will Shake The Saxons

GLASGOW WARRIORS were significantly better than EXETER CHIEFS, when the sides met at Scotstoun in Round Two of the Heineken Champions Cup. There may be a degree of truth in the “bad day at the office” excuse trotted out by the English media, to explain how a top Gallagher Premiership side could lose to a side from what the Saxons view as the inferior United Rugby Championship – more so, a SCOTTISH side. But, from what little we could see through the thick fog which blanketed Scotstoun, it was clear, on the day, Glasgow was miles better.

I don't think the gap will be as wide, when the sides meet again at Sandy Park, at tea-time tonight, but, I see no reason why Glasgow cannot win again. If they trust in their systems and believe in each other, then, having won once, Glasgow can win again, but, it will not be easy – it never is down in that part of the world.

I am not at all surprised at the XV announced by Coach Danny Wilson. He has made just one change from the team which thumped Ospreys last weekend, bringing back Australian talisman Jack Dempsey at number eight. This is a squad in-form, who trust each other and I say again, winning this one is not beyond them.

The Warriors' squad is: Jamie Bhatti, George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Kiran McDonald-Seran, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey; Ali Price, Ross Thompson, Cole Forbes, Sam Johnston, Seone Tuipulotu, Kyle Steyn, Josh McKay. Replacements: Fraser Brown, Ollie Kebble, Enrique Pieretto, Lewis Bean, Ryan Wilson, George Horne, Duncan Weir, Sebastian Cancelliere.

Ryan Wilson will join Rob Harley in Warriors' exclusive 200 appearances club, if he is used off the bench today.

IT'S A PITY the match is in the EUROPEAN CHALLENGE CUP, the poor relation of the two pan-continental competitions, because the clash between LONDON IRISH and EDINBURGH at the Brentford Community Stadium, just might be the highest-scoring and most free-flowing meeting of the weekend.

Here we have two teams whose first instinct is to run the ball from everywhere, so, if they get it right, there might well be tries and points galore. It could be one for the purists and lovers of running rugby – let's hope so.

Mike Blair has made four changes from the team which thumped Cardiff last weekend. The chosen squad is: Boan Venter, Adam McBurney, Wilem Nel, Jamie Hodgson, Grant Gilchrist, Nick Haining, Jamie Ritchie, Magnus Bradbury; Ben Vellacott, Blair Kinghorn, R Moyano, Jamie Lang, Matt Currie, Enrico Boffelli, Henri Immelman. Replacements: Patrick Harrison, Pierre Schoeman, Leroy Atalifo, Marshall Sykes, Connor Boyle, Charlie Shiel, Jaco van der Walt, Chris Dean.

Mark Bennett, who was so-impressive against Cardiff, sits this one out, with young Matt Currie, fresh from signing his first pro contract, wearing the 13 jersey. With both Stuart McInally and Dave Cherry injured, Patrick Harrison gets an unexpected bench call as back-up hooker.

DAI YOUNG has been in rugby for 36 of his 54 years. He won 51 Rugby Union and 124 Rugby League caps for Wales, he a three tours British and Irish Lions, a Barbarian, who has added a distinguished coaching career to his stellar playing one.

So, I was surprised and a wee bit let down when – five days after the match, he wondered why Edinburgh's Dave Cherry wasn't red carded for the challenge which saw young James Botham, who plays for Young's Cardiff Blues, stretchered off during Saturday's match in Edinburgh.

Referee Frank Murphy saw nothing amiss about the coming together of Cherry and Botham, the TMO looked at the collision and saw nothing amiss, while the Citing Officer at the match was similarly uninterested.

It was a high profile collision; the match was delayed for ten minutes and yes, everyone feels for young Botham. However, the consensus appears to be, this was an unfortunate and regrettable “rugby incident.” Surely Young has been in the game long enough to know: “shite happens” and not every challenge which ends up with a player on a stretcher is an automatic sending off. I noticed too, the BT Sport team had a wee sly dig at Cherry on Friday night.

Young let himself and his distinguished club down with this belated slur on an opponent, while the TV dig was also uncalled for.

Speaking of Cardiff, they really gave Harlequins a fright in one of last night's televised games. The much-vaunted English champions needed a last gasp converted try, then an even later penalty from Marcus Smith to beat a Cardiff team which was not as strong as that which capitulated so easily in Edinburgh.

The BT Sport team keep trying to convince us that the Gallagher Premiership is the strongest of the leagues in Rugby Union. Aye Right! Here we had the English Champions, currently third in the table, struggling to beat the team which is currently tenth of the eighteen clubs in the United Rugby Championship. Something aint right here.

FOLLOWING the Cardiff v Harlequins game on BT Sport, I watched the first two editions of a series “Rugbytown,” and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The notion is simple, it follows a scheme to take elite level American Football and Basketball players, who haven't established themselves in the NBA or NFL and retrain them to become elite level rugby players, good enough to play for the USA Eagles national team. They are based in Glendale, Colorado, former home of the Colorado Raptors of Major League Rugby.

The Raptors have now dropped out of MLR, to concentrate their efforts on developing these home-grown cross-over players. There are some impressive and very big athletes in there, I will follow this series with interest. One thing which does come across, is how much they enjoy rugby, after the hard work of even college sports. When rugby loses that fun element, the game is done for.

We're All Doomed, Ah Tell Ye - Or Are We?

I KNOW NOT How much attention Sir Bill Beaumont, TCD, John Jeffrey, Bill Sweeney and the other movers and shakers at the head of our various national unions pay to The Breakdown, The Guardian's weekly rugby blog. But, if they haven't paid it much heed before, they certainly ought to after yesterday's offering, penned by Robert Kitson.

The bold Kitson doesn't lay it on with a shovel, but, he makes it very clear, our game is in mortal danger and if the guys in the corporate suits in Rugby House in Dublin don't act soon – well in a few years they might not have a global game to fund their extravagant corporate life styles.

The dear old Guardian of course, views the game through red rose-tinted glasses; they're not that bothered about Scottish Rugby, we 'Sweaties' are a strange, alien race, what speaks funny and whom they cannot quite figture out, apart from being deeply concerted that we repeatedly refuse to do what the English master race tells us.

But, even the stoutest English rugger yeoman must be concerned at one figure Kitson quotes in his piece:

• “One recent survey suggested a fall from 259,600 active adult players in England in 2016 to only 95,100 at the end of last season.”

In stark figures, that means, nearly two-thirds of the adult players five years ago have hung-up their boots. If that doesn't waken up Will Carling's Old Farts at the top of the RFU food chain, nothing will.

Elsewhere in his article, Kitson writes:

• “Inside the past week, two of England’s more knowledgeable club officials, independently of each other, have shared the same opinion with me: that rugby union, participation-wise, will have morphed into something akin to American football within a decade. If you are any good you will play professionally, semi-professionally or at a good level at university or college. Otherwise recreational men’s rugby will largely be limited to touch, tag and sevens.”

I have been saying, for some time, the day is coming – and I admit, I don't know how far away this day of reckoning is – when “seamless” rugby, a single identifiable form of the game, from the lowest club's lowest XV through to the British and Irish Lions, will cease to exist.

There will be the professional game, semi-professional through to the game's mega-stars, where the hits are huge, the crowds attend and the players are paid to take the risks they do with their future health and well-being. But, I sincerely hope, there will also be a recreational game, where most of the injury risks are removed, but, the unpaid players still get a huge kick out of running with the ball and passing; but where the big, fat, slow lads can still enjoy the full-on challenge of the scrum.

But, the big question is:

• What form will 'Recreational Rugby' take?

I would like to think, if I am ever released, say in 100 years' time, from that overflowing press room in Hades to which I will be consigned on my passing, I will still be able to witness 15-a-side club rugby: where whether or not to train is an individual decision, there is still a post-game beer levy and you can still enjoy boat races, bawdy singing and the other joys of the game such as buying your immediate opponent a pint.

However, I noticed, in the BTL comments on The Breakdown, a growing support for a switch to Rugby Tens, as the way ahead for the recreational game.

Since, a few years ago now, I wrote his father's obituary, I have been in regular email contact with Ian MacEwen, son of former Scotland hooker of the 1950s, Bob MacEwen.

Ian retired from King's School, Canterbury at the end of the 2021 Academic Year; one of his former charges there is a certain Huw Jones. Ian is also concerned at the game's future, he has seen for himself the growing number of players who give-up the game on leaving school and is worried.

Ian is a great believer in Tens as the future of the game, I would like to see the Rugby Development Department at BT Murrayfield looking into this. If it will keep players playing – let's go for it.

The consensus BTL in the Guardian was that Sevens is simply too-demanding as an alternative to the full game, while Touch just doesn't offer the contact element which is such a big part of the game.

Most of the various unions' activity of late has been around the top end of the game – trying to make professional rugby viable and meaningful. It appears, while the high heid yins and their elves in Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh and London have been concentrating on the form of the game which pays their wages, the grass-roots, from whence it all springs, has been neglected.

If this failing is not addressed soon, we might not have a game for them to administer in a few years. You know, maybe James Frazer's parents, on his way to Warmington-on-Sea, sent him off Barra to be educated at Glasgow Academy. He maybe had some foresight as to where rugby was headed.

AS EVER, I added several books to my collection over the Christmas period, and am now working my way through my new additions. Aside from Billy Connolly's autobiography: “Windswept and Interesting”, which has, as you might expect, a laugh-out-loud moment on every page, two I particularly enjoyed have been Willie Anderson's autobiography 'Crossing The Line' and Sonny Bill Williams' offering 'You Can't Stop The Sun From Shining.'

Different books, but both well-worth reading. Anderson gets rid of his short and ill-starred time as Scotland's forwards coach, under Matt Williams, in one chapter – let's just say, he and Jim Telfer do not exchange Christmas cards.

Anderson did allude to conflict between the SRU Board and the SRU Council. This was in 2004, plus ca change and all that. The Scottish part is just one chapter in a rugby life well-lived, it's a most-enjoyable read.

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.