Kenny Murray - the Alan Hansen of Scottish Rugby

IT IS often said, mainly by Alan Hansen, that: "defences win titles" - this, of course is a footballing belief, rugby has always placed more emphasis on attack.

However, should Ayr see it through and win the RBS Premiership this season, Kenny Murray just might become the Hansen of rugby, because his insistence on defensive excellence is the main reason the Millbrae Men are in pole position for the title.

Ayr's superb defence was evident again at Goldenacre on Saturday, as they beat Heriot's to maintain pole position. I doubt if any Scottish team has played as many minutes a man short as have Ayr this term, but, they remain an awfully-hard team to score against.

THIS will be the last Aristotle ARmstrong offering for a month. The Lady in my life and I are going off for a once-in-a-life-time South Pacific cruise. I particularly chose to go at this time, reasoning it was better for my heart rate to be out of Scotland during the Six Nations - all that disappointment has become wearing.

But, this year, I sense, perhaps things will not be as bad as usual. Hopefully Scott Johnson's brand of Aussie "can-do enthusiasm" will overcome in-bred, native Scottish pessimism: " winning's no fur the likes o us" and we can surprise a few of the other teams.

I have never been totally "down" in recent years. Sure, we'll never win with George Clancy as referee until our pack gives him a guid auld-fashioned South of Scotland "shoeing" and our captain tells him - it will happen again unless he starts giving us some calls; but, that's a minor aside.

We have never been as bad as we have made ourselves out to be; similarly, this England team, for a start, is not as good as the English think it is. We CAN win at Twickenham, and if we can make it there, we'll make it anywhere. After all, as the SH" countries showed in the autumn, the Welsh are nothing like as good as their publicity machine, the Irish are in transition; you never know, the French might turn up with their heads on back to front and, some day, we have to thump the Italians.

Let all this happen this year, then, when I return, I can hopefully persuade Murrayfield to bank-roll an annual cruise during the Six Nations, since, minus my input - Scotland does well.

A man can dream.

Club And Under-20 XVs - Not Without Hope, If They Cut Out The Errors

THE things I do for Scotland; there I was, on a bloody cold Wednesday night, sat at Millbrae watching the Scotland Club XV take on the Scotland Under-20 XV in a warm-up game, before both sides take on their international obligations for 2013.

First of all, let's praise the real heroes of the night, those Ayr players, from the mini section, right up to first team squad members such as Stuart Fenwick, Sylvan Diez and Andy Dunlop, who turned-up early and removed the pitch covers, so the game could go ahead.

Prominent Millbrae "blazers", club President Billy McHarg and Director of Rugby Jock Craig, by the way, did their bit in re-laying the covers post-match; good to see the Chiefs helping the Indians.

The match was typical of what we expect from Scottish rugby in the 21st century, bags of effort, but, oh dear, the unforced errors, the mis-handling, jings, crivvens, help ma boab - when will we ever learn.

That said, I am not entirely despondent concerning the Under-20s' Six Nations aspirations, or the Club XV's chances of winning their games.

Young Jonny Gray ruled the lines-out; that said, it did help that the Club XV, who had only had one brief bonding session pre-match, were still sorting-out their line-out codes and tactics in the warm-up. But, if big Richie pirates the same amount of line-out ball young Jonny did in this one, Scotland could have a good Six Nations, and Richie will be going to Australia in the summer.

I struggle to get my head round Tommy Allan, the Under-20 stand-off. He plays his rugby for Western Province in South Africa and, I've been brought up to believe, Saffer 10s don't run, but, this kid does, brilliantly. He also kicks from hand in the time-honoured South African manner, giving the ball loads of air and thus allowing the kick chasers to pressurise the receiver.

Sam Hidalgoe-Clyne at stand-off has a super-fast, slick service, and with the likes of Mark Bennett and JJ Kilmartin outside the half backs, given useable ball, the Scots backs could cause damage.

The Club XV is not as match-ready as the younger squad, but, the way they gelled so quickly shows that there is a lot of talent in the RBS Premiership. The Gala lads all did particularly well, and there has to be a special word for Stirling County's Colin Hutton - who was "transferred" from the Under-20s to the Club XV mid-way through the second half to solve a propping shortage. I think he enjoyed the experience.

Finally, there was a special moment for referee Andrew McMenemy, when he (after wrongly showing his red card), yellow-carded Ayr scrum-half Murray McConnell, of the Club XV.

McMenemy was applauded for the decision, not the reaction he might get should he repeat the yellow card flourish in an Ayr club game I warrant.

SO, we've gone all Italian have we; with the new kit deal which sees Macron replace Canterbury as jersey and ancillary equipment suppliers to the Scotland, Edinburgh and Glasgow squads.

What was wrong with Dolce and Gabbani or Armani? Or aren't we stylish-enough for these brands? And, does it matter? I've never had any bother wearing the Peveril brand, which wee Sandy Service started all those years ago.

Another Meaningless Victory To Add To A Long List

THE thing which set Bannockburn apart from all the other battles in the long dispute between mighty England and its noisey and annoying northern neighbour Scotland was - this one really mattered.

Had Proud Edward's Army triumphed on that June day in 1314, by now we'd be just like the Welsh, making a lot of noise about the bloody English, but actually rather comfortable with them lording over us.

Instead, we remain a major irritant to the most-annoying nation on earth, whilst, actually, we largely govern them. Sure, they go on about 'the Queen of England' whereas, that gracious lady is actually more, in lineage terms, Queen of Scotland.

As with Bannockburn, so too the 1990 Grand Slam Match triumph; that one stands apart, because, it mattered. Will the Wanker and his 14 team-mates had been convinced they only had to turn-up to collect their deserved Grand Slam, then Sole and his storm troopers walked-out and the whole thing changed.

Sadly, too-often in the long history of sporting battles between the two auldest enemies, great Scotland wins have meant little.

The Wembley Wizards in 1928 were playing to avoid the wooden spoon, again in 1967, while Baxter humiliated England, it was in a European Championship qualifier and England qualified - we didn't.

Saturday's stunning Scostoun success for Glasgow Warriors over Northampton doesn't come into the same category as the 1928, 1967 or 1990 wins, but, it was still welcome.

Toony Townsend put out a side which would not have been many people's idea of a first-choice Glasgow XV, the margin of victory was tight and it was down to what may well be the greatest moment of Peter Horne's career - let's hope not though. But, Glasgow won and, given the disparity in funding between the two XVs, it had to go down as a glorious triumph.

Toony, by the way, is slowly adapting to the Head Coach's role, which is a lot different to his previous Attack Coach one with Scotland. I might be wrong in saying this, but, as a player he had a lot of similarities with Clive Woodward, not least in his ability to mix moments of inspiration with some horrendous bloomers; as a coach, he has much of Woodwards' unconventionality - seeking to play a fast-paced, off-loading 15-man game, rather than bump and grind, ten-man rugby.

He might not be a total Woodward clone, but, I like what he is doing and he is getting a reaction from his players.

Glasgow's Gordon Reid is a player for whom I have a real soft spot - he's a better prop than he is given credit for and he certainly had a cracking game on Saturday, not least, from what I have heard from guys who were at Scotstoun, for one huge hit on that over-rated poseur, Courtney Lawes.

Of course, if you get your view of games you missed from the London-based rugby media, Glasgow didn't beat Northampton - the Saints beat themselves; however, 'twas ever thus in cross-border battles. The London press weren't too-happy with Edward II's tactics and execution thereof at Bannockburn, by all accounts. 

Club XV - Great Idea But Needs More Work

I COULD find little to quibble about in the Scotland Club XV training squad announced this week - I find it somewhat strange, however, that none of the Ayr back row, a unit which has played such a huge part in the Millbrae team having the best defensive record in the RBS Premiership this season, found his way into the squad.

Certainly, the Premiership is awash with skilled back row operators, whilst his past as a full-time professional may have mitigated against Ayr skipper Callum "Fossy" Forrester, but, no Ayr back rowers picked seemed strange.

I think the Club XV has been a terrific innovation, I just wish the Murrayfield Mandarins would take it a bit more seriously than they do. The current set-up isn't ideal, but, this season we have, I think, seen greater consistency when it comes to the release of fringe Edinburgh and Warriors players to play in the Premiership.

A logical further step in this would, I feel, be for the Club XV to become something of a stepping-stone between the national age group sides and the Scotland and Scotland A squads. Not every Under-20 player is a Stuart Hogg and able to immediately step-up; indeed, the majority of the Under-20 squads of the past two seasons are still mainly on the fringes of the two professional sides and by and large playing their rugby in the Premiership.

Therefore, why not put them in the Club XV?

Another aspect of the selection was the revelation that some of the top club coaches - the guys we are so-often told are being over-looked or under-appreciated by Murrayfield - declined to apply to become Club XV Coach.

Of course, coaching a Premiership club, whilst also working full-time in a nine-to-five job is a big demand and calls for some sacrifices in home life, so to take-on further rugby commitments, with little guarantee that that commitment might lead to a full-time professional coaching job is a bit much.

However, given the self-interest mind-set within Murrayfield, not applying might be seen as: "lacking ambition". At least, we know that doesn't apply to Craig Chalmers, who must now face the fact - he's not wanted at Murrayfield, sad though that is

Finally, on this topic - surely the SRU ought to be, if they are going to fund this XV, be working towards a kind of Club XV Six Nations. More games = more interest =  (hopefully) more players coming through.

NEIL Drysdale: "The Wise Owl of Whitburn", made an interesting point in his 'Club Rugby' column in the Herald this week. Neil, never a man to cosy-up to "the blazerati" put forward the suggestion that the Premiership clubs should be thinking of starting a rugby-style SPL.

Now, given the dog's dinner which the Greed is God SPL football clubs have managed to come up with and perpetuate over the past 15-years, and given that (thankfully) we don't have an Old Firm duopoly at the top of the club rugby tree, Neil's suggestion might be a bit far-fetched.

However, there is a case to be made for using the very top tier of the club game as a means of broadening the professional portion of Scottish rugby. Already we have the protocol whereby the Edinburgh and Warriors Scots are drafted to the top clubs, who, I believe, this season have had more access to the fringe players, if not the internationalists, than of yore.

A wee extension to the numbers of full-time contracts, with such players doing development work for their Premiership clubs would be no bad thing. Similarly, SRU assistance towards more pitch protection and better spectator facilities would also help our top clubs survive and prosper, whilst helping bring through more top-class Scottish talent.

Why not a rugby SPL, or at least, adding another level to the professional pyramid, below the two RaboPro12 clubs? Setting it up will not be easy, but, fair play Neil - good idea my son.

Step Back - Move Forward

 THIS blog is proud of its record in blue sky thinking; towards this end, I have just had a "Eureka" moment in respect of that bastard child of modern rugby - the scrum.

Why not revert to the practice of pre-World War II and restore the "first up, first down" rule? Ancient though I may be, I wasn't around then, but, apparently, back before the last spot of UK-German bother, the protocol in Rugby Union was that, when play broke down and had to be restarted with a scrum (for that is, after all, what the scrummage is all about - restarting play following a minor break in continuity), the first players to the breakdown had to form the front row, then the next ones the second row and so on.

Try that today and you might find that the teams scrummed down with numbers 6-7-8 in the front row, numbers 2 and 4 locking the scrum and numbers 1,3 and 5 at the back and on the flanks.

Immediately this happened you'd do away with the macho business of getting the ludicrous "hit" right, and if it wasn't correct, go down and re-set; those players not schooled from the womb in the dark arts of the front row would want the scrum over with PDQ and would scrummage straight and high. The knock-on effect of this is, the referees could concentrate on the other boil on the face of the scrum - the crooked feed, the ball would go down the middle of the tunnel and have to be hooked.

They (the IRB), have tried everything else - why not this: it could work.

I TOOK myself along to Millbrae last night (Tuesday) to watch Ayr give Ardrossan a going-over in the RBS West Regional Cup. It was a bitterly-cold evening, a hard frost was descending from the off and the clatter of the studs on the ever-hardening ground was a constant sound track to the play.

The game duly was abandoned, with Ayr - who fielded what was pretty-much a second XV - six tries and 40 points to nil ahead. The game had been played and honour had been satisfied.

However, if we are NOT to go to a summer season, as Rugby League has done, and given the vagaries of the British weather, where we know there will be frost, snow, really heavy rain or some other weather disruption at some point, but don't know where that point will be, surely pitch protection HAS to become a priority for our top club sides.

It is all very well having pitch protection to ensure that Edinburgh, Glasgow and Scotland can get their games played - the top club sides such as Ayr, Currie, Gala, Melrose and the other Premiership teams are now becoming semi-professional, big-money operations who also require pitch protection systems in place.

These don't come cheap; the likes of Ayr, Currie, Stirling County, Boroughmuir and Dundee, to name but a few, are now key components in the well-being of the professional game, through their part in player development. These clubs deserve a bit more SRU money towards the cost of implementing and running proper pitch protection systems. Come on Murrayfield, sort this out.

Follow The Way Of The Warriors

NOT a bad start by the wee Australian to his term as interim Scotland Head Coach. I can find little fault in his training squad selection and positively welcome his call-up of young Sean Kennedy for instance, whilst the re-call of Johnnie Beattie was long overdue. As I have often said as regards young Beattie - form is transient, class is permanent and, if we have a half-decent Six Nations, which I feel we might have, he could be a Lion come June.

The naming of so-many present or former Warriors in the squad shows just where the core of Scottish professional rugby now sits. They won't like that in the pubs and clubs of Edinburgh, or in the Borders, although, of course, some of the chosen Warriors are Borders boys.

I am actually reasonably-confident about our chances of avoiding our seemingly annual arm wrestle with the Italians for the wooden spoon taking place this season; however, I have been confident of this before and been wrong!!!

I also quite fancy our chances of causing an upset at Twickenham, first time out. In fact, I would go as far as to say, how he prepares England for the opening game, might be something of a challenge for the impressive Stuart Lancaster.

The feeling in Englandshire is likely to be: "It's only the 'Sweaties' and, having "demolished" the All Blacks - that lot will not cause us too-much bother. In which case, unless Mr Lancaster gets his men properly focussed, the combination of crowd expectation at HQ, a myopic press corps talking-up his men, and a Scottish squad, fired-up to impress their new coach, just might be an unavoidable banana skin.

We are overdue a win at Twickenham, just as surely as the All Blacks were over-due a loss in the northern hemisphere. Is it too-much to hope for?

SOME years ago, when I was covering football rather than rugby on a regular basis of a Saturday, I was in the press box at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock; the press seats were then in the back row of the directors' box and this particular Saturday, Killie were playing hosts to the members of the International Board, football's supreme laws-making and amending body, who were holding their annual conference at Turnberry Hotel.

The International Board delegates, other than Herr Blatter, who was in the front row beside the Killie chairman and the SFA president, were seated in the row in front of the press and it was clear, from the outset, that FA secretary Graham Kelly wasn't too-hapy at being that close to the press.

However, as the game progressed, the ice melted and by half-time, Mr Kelly passed on the Killie pies and Bovril to chat to we hacks. As he left at the end, he thanked us for the banter and remarked that we had been quite unlike the English hacks he normally had to deal with - we Jocks seemed to care about the game and were able to speak sensibly on football matters. I should point out, most of that scribble of reporters have now retired!!!

Any way, that incident, I believe, shows-up the essential difference between Scottish and English sports writer, whatever the sport. We Scots care, the English only go along to criticise and I can guarantee that, even if England does win at Twickenham, unless they have given us a real doing, Lancaster and his squad will be given a hard time by the Play-Up Peregrines of their press corps. Let's hope this happens.

There was a great example of the two-facedness of the English rugby-writing fraternity this week, when the English Rugby Writers Club named England captain Chris Robshaw as their Player of the Year. Yet, even on the eve of the England v All Blacks match, the PUPs were describing Robshaw as: "at best a six and a half, not a true seven". Now, one win later, he's seemingly, at least in Englandshire, a shoo-in to be Lions captain. Let's wait and see about that.

Let's Lance The Scrummage Boil - Now

THE English rugby media has been getting their collective knickers in a twist this week about that festering boil on the face of rugby, the current refereeing of the scrum.

The scrum is a total mess, and the higher the level of the game, apparently the bigger the mess. Of late, our dear friends darn sarf have become almost as obsessed with scrummage domination as that other group of big, thick, square-headed neanderthals - the Saffers - have long been. Winning the scrummages is now some sort of badge of honour in Englandshire, just as it has long been on the high veldt.

What is to be done? After all, the scrum is supposed to be a means of re-starting the game following some breaks in play, not a match-defining test of machismo.

First things first; IF referees were to immediately insist on scrum-halves feeding the ball down the middle of the tunnel - which brings me to the apocraphyl tale, told in one of the English broadsheets recently, of the young scrum-half, promoted to the first team of an English Premiership side through an injury crisis, who forgot himself and sent his first scrum feed straight down the middle of the tunnel, where it sat in splendid solitude, since neither hooker could, or knew how-to, hook, they had never had to - it would immediately help. Bring Back Hooking, it's a good place to start.

I have seen too, the sensible suggestion that the referee brings-in progressive engagement: the two front rows bind, then the four locks come in, followed by the three breakaways, only when all 16 forwards are in place will the ball be fed-in and then, and not before, the rival packs can push.

Of course, as they do, coaches would immediately be looking for ways of circumventing the laws, which might bring presently unexpected problems.

But, the scrum is just one area of concern in modern rugby. Given the IRB are unwilling to re-introduce real rucking of the Otago/Scottish Borders type, whereby, if you lie over the ball, you get what Finlay Calder so-memorably termed: "A guid shoeing", we have to sort-out the breakdown.

I remain convinced that nothing would sort-out the breakdown shambles faster than a few cha-chas danced on the torsos of persistent offenders - with today's all-pervasive tv and video cameras, the head-kicking thugs would quickly be eliminated - and the game would become faster, more-so if the use of hands was actively discouraged and the need for the ball to be played by a foot in a ruck was established.

Failing that, and referring again to the scrummage shambles, why doesn't rugby take a leaf out of the NFL book? In American Football at professional level, there are no less than SEVEN field officials, to monitor the behaviour of 22 players. That might be over-kill in rugby, but, to ask three officials to watch what's going on between 30 players, and cogniscant of the fact that some referees appear to play little attention to what their touch judges have to say, rugby should perhaps look at bringing in more officials.

Why not a specialist scrum referee - ideally a former prop or hooker? Might not a couple of officials, close to the action, sort out the rucks and make for a faster game? Surely, for the sake of the game's image, the IRB should be trying something different. Doing nothing isn't an option.

Attention To Detail Makes All The Difference

IN MY last post, I mentioned Richie McCaw's autobiography 'The Real McCaw'. In this excellent book, the All Blacks captain worte at length about the attention to detail which is the hall-mark of the Blacks' domination of international rugby - the player's hand book of Dos and Don'ts, the way every last small item is checked and double-checked.

I learned this week, how far off the pace, the SRU remains. On Tuesday night I took myself off to Millbrae to watch Ayr take on the Scotland Under-20 squad, currently in a training camp at the Invderclyde National Sports Centre at Largs.

This "bounce" game was sufficiently flagged-up for Ayr to mention it in the match programme for Saturday's home game with Melrose and for it to be plugged by Bryce the match announcer over the pa system.

A good crowd turned up and enjoyed an entertaining match, in which Ayr just edged the Under-20s by 21-19. However, the SRU's lack of attention to detail was only too-obvious.

The Under-20 squad of 30 players were there, as was Coach Sean Lineen, Assistant Coaches Simon Cross and John Dalziel, Manager Andy Miller and the usual plethera of physios, video analysts and so on. Indeed, one sarky old playing contemporary of mine remarked to me: "Seven guys in SRU tracksuits on the touchline, but no team on the park". The players, team management group, all their equipment and essentials were ferried from Largs to Ayr and back in one of Dodds of Troon's finest executive coaches - the one St Mirren normally use if I'm not mistaken, plus, they've had the run of Inverclyde for a week - which doesn't come cheap.

Why then, with all that financial outlay, did the SRU miss-out on a couple of essentials - two touch judges? It wasn't until referee Graham Wells came onto the park for his pre-match warm-up and asked: "Where are my touch judges?" that this over-sight was discovered.

I saw at least three members of the West of Scotland Referee's Society in the crowd, none had their kit with them, but two (who sadly didn't live in Ayr) admitted, had they known in time, they'd have been delighted to have officiated. As it was, a couple of Ayr members filled-in. Worse, West of Scotland Referees Manager Andy MacPherson lives in Ayr, couldn't he have helped out?

Bad show SRU, almost as bad as not numbering the squad. Some we in the press box could identify from watching them in the Premiership. Cameron McAllister from the SRU's Media department did a cracking job identifying the less-well-known and the Anglo-Scots, so, we got through - but, with a wee bit of fore-thought at Murrayfield, things could have gone better.

Here was a real chance to "sell" rugby in Ayrshire - where, admittedly, aside from a "tribal" atmosphere which rivals the Borders in intensity, Ayr are doing this rather well. Efforts should have been made to get mini and midi players from the Ayrshire clubs in there to hopefully be inspired  by seeing the likes of Mark Bennett - who was one such player a mere three years ago - in action. It was a chance missed, because Murrayfield didn't attend to detail.

 

He Glides Into Breakdowns - That's Why Ref's Never See Him

I HAVE just read, in one day, Richie McCaw's marvellous autobiography: 'The Real McCaw' - I feel it should be compulsory reading for anyone who cares about Rugby Union. I no longer see McCaw as a marvellous rugby player, but as a glider pilot who happens to work as a rugby player.

 

It's the insights he offers into how the Blacks machine operates which intrigue me, these show where the rest of us are going wrong. To us, it's a game, even at professional level; to McCaw and the other GABs (Great All Blacks), it's much more, these guys do indeed live up to the Shankly maxim about that other form of football - it is more important than life or death. And that's why we cannot beat them.

 

 

 

SO, farewell Mike Blair and well done. Blair retiring now, before the Six Nations was a smart move by him and a good one for the SRU. With Blair out of the equation, new coach Scott Johnston can now move Greig Laidlaw up to nine, thereby freeing-up the number 10 shirt for a straight battle between Jackson and Heathcote, and maybe Duncan Weir. This season's Six Nations might not be simply our annual battle with Italy to avoid the wooden spoon. Let's hope so.

 

 

 

THE Herald broke with this season's precedents on Monday, they had reports on two individual RBS Premiership matches, with Kevin Ferry at the Dundee HSFP and Stirling County match-up and Alasdair Reid at Boroughmuir and Gala. Hitherto what used to be Scotland's top rugby paper has stuck to an insipid Monday round-up of the Premiership, plus a midweek club rugby round-up from a freelance who doesn't go to club games on a Saturday!!!

 

Welcome though the deployment of Kevin and Alasdiar was, they ignored the biggest game on the card and the one closest to the Herald heartland (if like me you consider Stirling County to be a Midlands rather than Glasgow side).

 

Surely the biggest game on Saturday's Premiership card was the one at Millbrae between Ayr and Melrose. Scotland on Sunday certainly thought this, despatching Ian Morrison to cover it.

 

I haven't missed a home Ayr league game this season and always, when I turn up, some of the Millbrae "Silverbacks" who sit around the press seats, enquire as to which paper I am covering for, then add, significantly: "I no longer read the Herald, it has given up on covering club rugby".

 

When this failure on behalf of its core constituency - the guys speaking are retired teachers, lawyers and accountants, who have bought and read the paper for half a century, or are still-in-harness Managing Partners in legal and accounting firms, or promoted teachers - it helps explain the Herald's fast-receding readership.

 

The last Herald editor - who is still apparently in talks about his release package, protracted talks which have delayed the appointment of his replacement - was, in my humble opinion as one who served under him, a half-wit; let's hope the new guy does better and leads the paper back to where it should be, as an authorititive voice in West-Central Scotland.

 

 

Good Luck Dean, But Let's Promote Scots Coaches

TO BE fair, Dean Ryan - the latest outsider to be called-up to try to solve the ills of Scottish rugby, does have a reputation as a straight-talking hard man who can produce winning teams. Moving to Edinburgh will either get him a gig in the English Premiership, or be the end of his career, so, I wish him well.

That said, I am not holding my breath for a turn-around in our fortunes; and I cannot help but feel, instead of giving Shade Munro the A team, which will in any case play just once between now and the end of the season, the SRU ought to have given him the job into which they have recruited Ryan. After all, big Shade has built one impressive pack at Scotstoun.

While I am at it, assuming MIchael Bradley doesn't get his Edinburgh contract renewed, I'd love to see Ayr's Kenny Murray and Gala's George Graham getting the Murrayfield gig for next season. Reluctantly, we have to accept that, because nobody likes him, wee Craig Chalmers's chances of an SRU gig have gone - good coach though he is.

Promoting Murray and Graham would send out a message - that Murrayfield does care about promoting Scottish talent. Continuing to maintain a chasm between the professional and amateur games will only, in the end, lead to a ruinous schism in the game up here.

I WAS at Ayr v Melrose on Saturday, what a cracking advertisement for the RBS Premiership - pity about the refereeing tough. Mr Van der Merwe was yet another referee with no idea about what was going on up front. He decided, Melrose were on top and nothing which took place in front of him would change that view.

Yes, Melrose did have the better of the scrums, but, fr at least one of the re-set penalties he gave in the lead-uip to awarding the first of 'Rose's two penalty tries, it seemed to me, a former front row player, that Melrose took the scrum down, not Ayr, and for another, Melrose popped up first, again he said Ayr.

I am now a convert to the idea of specialist scrummage referees being involved - former front row men well-practiced in the dark arts. The major bonus from this would be, no more Brian Moore commentating on England games; as a qualified referee,  he'd be in action as a scrum referee at another international. This alone should make the implementation of scrum referees an immediate innovation.



PRE-TOUR Lions hype is already growing and, to read the English-published papers, one would think, after England "destroyed" the All Blacks in the autumn tests, that, following their now nailed-on 6 Nations Grand Slam, there will be a distinctly white tinge inside the red shirts in Australia.

\Take nothing away from England, they did beat the World Champions and deservedly so, but, they got the Blacks on a bad day and while they beat them, they didn't destroy them. I don't see England winning the 6 Nations, I favour France, and, as ever with England, several of their players are being over-hyped.

If Scott Johnston is as good as he's made out to be, we could have a surprisingly-good 6 Nations and get more than a token Lions representation. What about Al Kellock for Lions captain? They could do worse.

Scotland - Stuck In Reverse

WHEN I were nowt burra lad, the old amateur "Alickadoos" of the SRU revelled in their reputation as backward and out of touch - whilst generally acting for the best for the game in Scotland. Lest we forget, Scotland was the first country to inaugurate national leagues.

 

Today, Murrayfield is a model of corporate slickness and media-speak, and Scottish rugby's standing is going down faster than the Titanic did. Can we please see, in 2013, a turning of the tide and Murrayfield giving us something to be proud of and celebrate?

 

 

 

THAT said, I hae ma doots if it will happen. Basically, the two Scottish "professional" sides are now breeding grounds for the richer clubs in England and France, always ready to cherry-pick Scottish talent which shows up well in the RaboPro12 or Heineken Cup. This is simply because, we don't have the money in Scotland to keep world-class talent at home.

 

That said, we don't do too-well in bringing through our talent. For instance, Mark Bennett is definitely one for the future, and by that I mean the near future, not the middle distance future.

 

I thought it a great move when Glasgow Warriors brought him home from Clermont Auvergne on-loan and looked forward to his first appearance at Scotstoun. That was over two months ago and thus far, Mark hasn't even made the Glasgow bench and has had to content himself with games for Stirling County.

 

FFS, he was Man of the Match in the Scottish Cup Final two years ago, before he went to France. What he is doing messing about in the Stirling midfield is a mystery to me and isn't helping the development of a genuine superstar in the making.

 

If I was Mark, I'd be telling Gregor Townsend straight - play me or I'm off back to France.