BT's Support Is Good News

WE couldn't accuse the SRU of not putting maximum effort into yesterday's anouncement that, for the next five years at least, the home of Scottish rugby will be the BT Murrayfield Stadium, rather, as has been the case for the past 89 years, just plain old Murrayfield.

Aye right. Being distinctly old school, I will continue to follow the guide lines laid down by that leg end of Scottish sports writing, Ian "Dan" Archer. Dan, who bestrode the Scottish sports-writing scene as befitted a man who was, at the same time, an Old Rugbeian and a Partick Thistle supporter, swithered long and hard about how to recognise sponsorship,without getting carried away. He decided, sponsors would get a nod in the first two paragraphs, thereafter - forget it.

So, the company which is my internet service provider, having been recognised in the opening paragraph above, back to normal. At Murrayfield yesterday, there was good news from the financial injection which the BT deal has brought to the game. As ever, no sum was mentioned, but, nobody was prepared to dissuade we hacks from speculating the deal was worth around £5 million per annum to the SRU.

This has to be welcomed, as is the fact, it will not immediately disappear into the seemingly bottomless pit of the professional side of the game, but will be used for the general good of the game up here - of which, more later.

It was a bit disappointing that new coach Vern Cotter wasn't there to speak to the press, and, with the first tranche of the summer touring parties leaving tomorrow - Friday, for the USA, and Glasgow having a somewhat important match in Dublin on Saturday, we might not get a chance to interrogate Vern Cotter until after the summer tours.

I did get a chance to speak to Peter Oliver, the Honcho of BT Sport, who assured me Scottish rugby would get a mention on their excellent midweek Rugby Tonight programme, which, at present, is a homage to how wonderful English rugby is.

Mr Oliver said they hoped to bring the programme to Murrayfield in the new season, and did hint at better coverage of the PRO12, particularly when their teams play in the new European Cup next season. Let's hope his deeds match his words.

Go Jonny Go - He's Nearly Gone

I HAVE nothing against Jonny Wilkinson, in fact, I admire the man greatly. It could, with justification, be argued that he has been the outstanding, most-professional rugby player of the professional era - even if, in terms of his ability to raise a packed stadium with a moment of brilliance, he is some way behind the likes of Richie McCaw, Dan Carter or Brian O'Driscall.

 

Anyone who has read even one of the several books written by or about him, will know he is an absolute perfectionist, who suffers, surprisingly, moments of self-doubt and an intense fear of failure. He must be hell to live with.

 

Wilkinson played well for Toulon in their Heineken Cup Final defeat of Saracens on Saturday. He gave his usual four-and-a-half-out-of-five-stars display; kicked his kicks, had the vision to bring the best out of his outside backs and gave a captain's performance in the galactico-filled "French" side retaining the big silver pot.

 

Also, given the final was his final game on British soil, the overwhelmingly English media we are saddled with on this island were always going to give him the Man of the Match award and eulogise his performance.

 

BOD got the MOM award for his final international match in Dublin, probably underservedly; at least, in Cardiff on Saturday, Wilkinson had more right to his. Regardless of national or club ties, we can be sure, these two megastars will be sadly missed.

 

However, sport is like that - one generation of big names departs, to make room for the next. In time, we will be able to better evaluate their performances. Sure, given the English media bias, Wilkinson will always be up there, but, on the top step in the pantheon of stand-offs? Not so sure about that one.

 

I would put him behind (in no particular order) Jackie Kyle, Cliff Morgan, Barry John, Phil Bennett, Mark Ella and Dan Carter. I also reckon, albeit they played in the amateur era, Dai Watkins, Richard Sharp and John Rutherford, although not in the Wilkinson class as place kickers, were better match managers.

 

But, none of them kicked a World Cup-winning dropped goal for England.

 

That's the great thing about sport, opinion is free. Wilkinson is in my top ten tens, but, I don't think he's the number one.

The Lull Before The Storm

IT'S been a strange week in rugby - the lull before the storm if you like. The big news in Scotland was, of course, the announcement of the Scotland squads for the summer tour matches in the USA, Canada, Argentine and South Africa.

 

The tour schedule calls for some lateral thinking by the Murrayfield management and, by and large they have, I think, managed pretty well. It was, however, unfortunate that the powers-that-be in EH12 decided to announce the team by email release, rather than, as might have been expected, by a full-blown press conference.

 

It would have been nice to have questioned Vern Cotter about the selection, indeed, to have asked him: how much of the squad was down to him and how much was SJ helping him out.

 

It hasn't helped either that - the Herald doesn't have a particular journalist "on point" as it were, on rugby matters. Kevin Ferrie, who used to be "Our Rugby Correspondent" is now simply a "Senior Sports Writer", who writes more on other sports than on rugby, while Alasdair Reid, 'Stuart McAllister' (in reality Hamish Stuart) and Neil Drysdale are all freelances. And in the case of Drysdale, a freelance who doesn't bother himself by actually turning-up at rugby matches any longer.

 

At the other end of the M8 The Scotsman's sports desk is starting to resemble the Marie Celeste, as the paper's management continues to shed staff in lurching from crisis to crisis. There are some talented and committed journos operating at the foot of Holyrood Road, but, they are, to my mind, increasingly looking like lions led by donkeys.

 

David Ferguson, heir to Mair, Pincott, Rea and Co as Chief Rugby Writer, has left to start his own media company, and good luck to him. Daily territory coverage has been ceded to freelances such as David Barnes and Gary Heatly while Iain Morrison, whose main remit is as Rugby Correspondent of Scotland on Sunday now has his by-line in both titles.

 

I would presume, for next season, Morrison will be point man, backed-up by the freelances, with Ferguson continuing his excellent video pieces for the website. So long as they keep that tosser Richard Bath away from Scottish rugby, I will be happy.

 

Sorry for the lengthy diversion there - back to business. Yes, it would have been nice to have had Mr Cotter in front of us to answer in person some questions about the tour party - such as: what's up with Ryan Grant and Euan Murray for starters?

 

My take: It may be that, between his age and his liking for Sundays off, Mr Murray is now seen as yesterday's man, while, if the rumours around Glasgow rugby are to be believed - it could be that Mr Grant will shortly have a personal appearance, alongside Ryan Wilson, to make before the Bench, as The McLay Affair finally sees daylight.

 

 

 

THEN there was Edinburgh's announcement of the signing of Irish prop John Andress. 

Sorry, this one failed to move me, it makes no sense. If you were going to sign a tight-head prop from Worcester to a Scottish club, you would sign Murray, not his understudy.

 

Murray, mentoring the likes of Euan McQuillin, would be a good move. If, however, you had to sign an Irish prop as back-up, then why not the younger Brendan Cullinane at Glasgow Hawks. To me, he looks the real deal and could be brought through as one to watch. I also fancy, McQuillin and Cullinane, as contemporaries and rivals, could have lifted each other more.

 

No if they had to sign an Andress, they'd have been as well going for Ursula - who did, memorably, have a positive effect on one Fountainbridge boy in a move, many moons ago!!

 

 

 

FINALLY, I hope, at this big media event at Murrayfield on Wednesday - which we are not supposed to speak about, somebody asks somebody at the top table, why their company, having thrown several millions at the SRU, doesn't mention Scottish Rugby, or even Glasgow Warriors and the PRO12 final, in their company's big TV rugby programme.

 

This programme, every week, tells us how great the Aviva Premiership in England is, then goes on at some length about the French League, but, NEVER mentions the PRO12, or the very successful Scottish club who wears their logo on their shirt - strange.

 

 

Come On Warriors - Let's Spoil BOD's Farewell

TO USE that grand old Scottish saying (albeit slightly tweaked) - Aye, we ken noo!!

 

We now know that Leinster wil entertain Glasgow Warriors in the Rabo Direct PRO12 grand final, in Dublin, on 31 May. I rather expected the final to be in Dublin, a combination of the ravages of a hard season, not to mention a huge injury list - plus the fact home advantage has always been crucial - meant the Dubs beat the men from Up North.

 

So, BOD, one of the absolute greatest players in the history of Rugby Union, does indeed get his chance to play his final game, in his home town, in a biig final.

 

This immediately casts Glasgow into the role of potential villains and party-poopers. The public will want, nay demand, that Brian O'Driscoll bows out a winner. Not me, however, yes, he and the (in my opinion) even greater Mike Gibson are the centres in my All-Time World XV to take on Mars - but, in this instance, particularly if his immediate opponent is the young man from my old Cumnock club, Mark Bennett, I want to see BOD dumped on his fat arse early on and trampled. I want Glasgow to win.

 

I also believe, they can win, but, remember, it is Leinster they are facing, in Dublin - winning will be incredibly difficult for Glasgow. It should also be quite a game.

 

 

 

GLASGOW were simply awesome in overcoming the considerable Munster challenge. Here was a game from which you couldn't drag your eyes as it unfolded in all its bloody beauty. Both sides defended as if their very lives depended on it; at time it wasn't pretty, but, there were still some memorable moments, in both attack and defence.

 

Glasgow, I feel, won because they had the better strength-in-depth, more-so on the bench. Ryan Grant, a Lions prop remember, had to go off, and was replaced by Gordy Reid - who scored the crucial match-winning try. Niko Matawalu came on and worked his magic for the impressive Chris Cusiter, while who would have believed Sean Lamont being able to come on and do a turn as a flanker?

 

This strength-in-depth, this solid, right through the squad work and team ethic will be required if the team is to win in Dublin. You know, they can do it.

 

Mind you, a Glasgow win would be more-possible, with the right referee. It looks as if Nigel Owens will get the gig - him being the top non-Irish or Scottish referee available to the PRO12 management. He will certainly (if he does get the gig), do a better job than the poor, in every way, out-of-his-depth Italian official did at Scotstoun.

 

I still cannot work-out how the first Munster try was allowed to stand - leaving aside the Keith Earles assault on Alex Dunbar, I watched the replays from every angle - it was, in my albeit slightly one-eyed view, impossible to say for sure that the ball was down on or over the line - just as it was with the try which wasn't given.

 

We deserve more consistency. Also, the officials were repeatedly conned by Munster, who are past-masters at this sort of thing. It is this "street-wise" approach which makes Munster a somewhat unloved team - in many ways the Leicester of the PRO12.

 

But, and this is an old hobby-horse of mine. Any sport which, as rugby does, is at the mercy of refereeing interpretation of the Laws, of player uncertainty from game to game, is a game with problems.

 

I have repeatedly said, by appearing to do nothing, John Jeffre`y and his fellow Bufties in the IRB are, by continuing to tinker rather than properly overhaul the Laws, are doing Rugby Union no favours.

 

 

 

BT is my internet service provider, therefore, I get BT Sport free, which gives me access to their excellent coverage of the English Premiership. Now, I do not subscribe to the English media view that, just as its football equivalent is "the greatest league in the world", so too, by simply having that word "English" in its title, the "Aviva" is rugby's equivalent.

 

Yes, like the football one, English rugby's top league is over-hyped. But, to be fair, it is a hard-fought league, the intensity is extreme and, there are some excellent players on view.

 

I enjoyed the two semi-finals, in particular, the waySaracens made light of their two yellow cards to come through and win. My late elder brother played for Sarries back in the amateur era, while another old school chum of mine, these many years in New Zealand, still speaks fondly of his time with the club. So, yes, I was happy that they won.

 

I was less happy with the attitude of Chris Robshaw and Mike Brown, who seemed to me to believe, because they were, respectively, the captain of England and England's player of the Six Nations, they are somewhat special.

 

The spirit of Will Carling still haunts The Stoop.

 

BTW, I think in the semi-final, Kelly Brown surely showed, he is a number six, and, a bloody good one - great try he scored.

 

But, what really stuck-out from the two English semi-dinals was -England has some good referees, in particular the oft-maligned Wayne Barnes, who was really very good at Allianz Park.

Tonight - We Will All Be Warriors

TONIGHT, at Scotstoun, Glasgow Warriors will play the most-important game ever to feature a Scottish team, when they entertain Munster in the Rabo Pro12 play-off semi-final.

 

Quite simply, the credibility of Scottish rugby is at stake tonight. If Glasgow lose, the view in England, Wales and Ireland will be that, Warriors had flattered to deceive. Yes, under Toony they had played some good rugby, their defence has been exemplary, but, when it mattered, as in Europe, like Scottish rugby as a whole - they weren't quite up to it.

 

But, if they win, well, they have become the first Scottish team to get into an international final. OK, it might not be a pan-European final, but, it will still be a final, and that's new ground for the Scots.

 

Also, they have got there with an essentially Scottish team. Everyone accepts that the Jocks still produce the odd very good player, but, even with wonderful world-class coaches such as Creamy or Geech, the essential weaknesses of the game up here - the lack of depth and numbers, the reliance on a miniscule grass-roots base in the private schools and the Borders and the fact that, in the Scottish media, indeed, in the fabric of Scottish sporting life in general, fitba is the only game in town - has always been a drawback.

 

But, should Glasgow, the club from Football City, get past the formidable Munster machine, then it will spark new life into Scottish rugby. And, should they then take the final step and actually win the whole thing, well, if that feat is built on properly - the sky just might not even be the limit.

 

How ironic then, the future well-being of Scottish rugby largely lies in Glasgow, a place where rugby players are generally seen as "Poofs".

 

Gaun yersel lads, ye can do it.

 

 

 

ONE OF the, if not THE biggest question in the build-up to tonight's game has been: guessing what XV Toony would send out. Much has been made of the non-selection of Stuart Hogg. We hear rumours of differences between the 2013 Lion and his coach; there have been hints of dressing room differences; of an imminent departure to Ulster, or perhaps somewhere in the English Premiership. That is for later, what is important about tonight is, that the XV on the field, do their stuff.

 

There was also some surprise that Al Kellock would be leading from the front. I am not surprised, if any lock has the mental strength to stand-up to Paul O'Connell, it is Big Al. Sure, he is not the force he was, but, he remains a formidable line-out operator, a wonderful dimplomat in the important area of referee interaction, while his man-management skills are the best in the Scottish game.

 

It's tough on Tim Swinson, who has had a great season, to miss out, but,for the big games, you need your big players and, in Glasgow, nobody is bigger than Big Al.

 

 

 

MEANWHILE, along the M8, Mr Solomons has continued to cut-out the dead wood, or, what he sees as the dead wood. I reckon Lee Jones and Rob McAlpine - who has been really badly treated by the management - are perhaps unlucky to be released, as for the rest, no complaints.

 

It will be interesting to see if the two young Gala props can step-up next season; I would love to see Heriot's Murray Douglas given his chance. The re-building will be interesting, as will the recruitment for next season.

Hugh McLeod - RIP

YESTERDAY, Scottish Rugby lost one of its all-time greats, Hugh Ferns McLeod - we should remember him.

Hugh Ferns McLeod OBE – former international rugby player

Born: Hawick, 8 June, 1932

Died: Hawick, 13 May, 2014, aged 81.

HUGH McLeod, who has died, aged 81, was one of the greatest, arguably THE greatest rugby player ever to come out of Hawick; and, one of the greatest in the history of Scottish Rugby. When you consider the many "Teris" to have worn the little Borders town's famous green shirt, the navy blue of Scotland, and the red of the British Lions, that is no small accolade.

Squat, at a mere five-foot-nine-inches tall, and weighing, at his peak, just over 14 stones, McLeod was one of the finest props of his era. He was the first Scottish player to tour Australia, New Zealand and South Africa with the British Lions, making two tours – to South Africa in 1955, where he failed to make the Test side and 1959 to Australia and New Zealand, where he played in all six internationals.

In many ways, McLeod was ahead of his time. In an era of beer-swilling rugby players, who allegedly played the game to work-up a thirst, the non-smoking, tea-total McLeod, whose abstinence and concentration on personal fitness earned him the nickname "The Abbot", was a man apart.

He was Hawick born-and-bred and first donned the legendary jaggy green shirt as a teenager in the late 1940s.

His was a rapid rise; he had never played rugby prior to joining the youth side, Hawick PSA, from where he rapidly moved on to Hawick YM, then into a Hawick team which included one Bill McLaren, a friend until the Voice of Rugby's death. He was still a teenager when he made his first appearance in the National Trial in 1951.

He was completing his National Service with the Royal Tank Corps, during which he appeared for the Army and for the Yorkshire county side, when he was introduced into the Scotland side against France at Murrayfield, on 9 January, 1954. The visitors won 3-0, but the three new caps in the Scotland front row: TP McGlashan of Royal High School FP, Cambridge University student Bob McEwen and McLeod all earned good reviews. For McLeod this game, the 12^th in Scotland's sorry run of 17 straight defeats was the first in a run of 40 internationals in a row – he was never dropped by Scotland.

The Scotland selectors of the time were quick to swing the axe, but, there was never any question of dropping McLeod, as he forged two long-lasting international partnerships – he and Gala's Tom Elliot propped the Scotland pack 14 times, while he formed the Scottish front row in a further 14 internationals with hooker Norman Bruce of Blackheath and Howe of Fife's David Rollo, who would allegedly be denied the chance to exceed McLeod's then record of Scotland caps, because the SRU officials thought it fitting they finished with the same number.

He also enjoyed a life-long friendship with Bob McEwen, his first Scotland hooker. McEwen was an English-born, public school-Cambridge University-educated company director, McLeod a plasterer from Hawick, a real "Robbie Dye", but, both were deep thinkers on rugby and ahead of their time. Right up until his death last year, whenever McEwen was coming up to Scotland, he had to divert via Hawick to spend time with McLeod.

He was a key figure in the Scotland team which ended that disastrous run of defeats by beating Wales 14-8 in "Arthur Smith's Match" in 1955 and his form throughout that season saw him selected for the 1955 Lions tour to South Africa, in which he played in 13 of the 24 games.

However, with the Lions selectors sticking with an all-Welsh front row of "WOG" Williams, Bryn Meredith and Courtney Meredith, he couldn't  break into the Test team. He did, however, impress the South Africans, to whom scrummaging is almost a religion, with his hard work in the tight, and his energy around the park. He even deputised at hooker against the South West Districts after Bryn Meredith and Robin Roe, the party's two specialist in that position, both went dow injured.

Four years later, for the lengthy tour to Australia and New Zealand, McLeod was the first-choice loose-head prop for the test team, wearing the number one jersey in all six tests. Here again, he had to reprise his stand-in hooker's role against New Zealand Universities, taking four strikes "against the head" as the Lions won 25-13. He also turned place-kicker in the final match of that tour, against Eastern Canada on the way home, scoring a try and goaling two conversions in a 70-6 win.

McLeod was equally comfortable on the loose-head and tight-head sides of the scrum, so, why not also in the middle of the front row?

These trips to the southern hemisphere had a lasting benefit to Hawick, with McLeod, a keen student of the game, picking-up on South African and New Zealand coaching and fitness practices, which were years ahead of those in Britain and bringing them back to Hawick – with the result the legendary "Green Machine" Hawick packs carried all before them in Scotland.

For all his great deeds with the South of Scotland, Scotland, the Lions and the Barbarians, for whom he made 14 appearances, as well as twice playing for combined Scotland-Ireland Xvs against England-Wales, in the special match to open the Lansdowne Road stand in 1955 and the Twickenham Jubilee match in 1955, McLeod was first and foremost a Hawick man, he was president of the Greens in the mid-eighties. His commitment to the club was shown when he master-minded the building of the boundary wall at Mansfield Park and by his leadership of the work parties which kept the ground up to scratch.

He had strong opinions on rugby and when, as frequently happened, McLeod, as the Hawick club representative was called upon to speak at the SRU annual meeting – everyone listened.

McLeod was famously reluctant to speak to the press about his great career, although he was always keen to pass on nuggets of his great experience to other rugby men. He saw himself as merely a prop, one of the guys who won the ball for the real rugby players, such as his great Hawick contemporary Geordie Stevenson, to play with.

He retired from international rugby, after the Calcutta Cup game, at Murrayfield, in 1962; as Bill McLaren, who knew the end was coming, said: "Hughie reckoned 40 was a good round number". His great service to the game was recognised when he was made OBE in the January New Year Honours list in 1963. He was inducted into the Scottish Rugby Hall of Fame in November last year, one of the second tranche of inductees.

Away from rugby he worked as a plasterer, and also ran a sports shop in Hawick, while post-rugby his competitive instincts were partly salved by showing his bulldog 'Spike'.

Hugh McLeod was pre-deceased in 2006 by Myra, his wife of 49-years. He leaves a son Roddy.His funeral, in Hawick, will be a private affair.

Just recently, Hawick RFC produced a discussion paper, the aim of which was to begin the process of taking the Greens right back to their previously pre-eminent position in the club game in Scotland. There could be no finer tribute to Hawick's finest than for the club to carry through the aims espoused in the discussion paper and once more make the Green Machine feared across the land.

We Need Balanced Debate Around Where We Are And Where We Are Going

WE Scots have a history of extreme reaction to events, particularly when it comes to sport, and, more-particularly when it comes to what has become our closest-alternative to war - a sporting conflict against our dear neighbours from across the Solway.

 

There has NEVER been a better victory than that achieved on 31 March, 1928, by the 'Wembley Wizards'. On the other hand, there has NEVER been a greater disaster than that afflicted by us at "Nine past Haffey" at Wembley in April, 1961.

 

So, when reflecting on last night's results from Scotstoun and Dublin, maybe a wee bit of that rate commodity in Scottish sporting commentary - balance - is called-for.

 

I do not for a moment believe anyone with reasonable knowledge of the Rabo Direct Pro12 expected Glasgow to lose to Zebre. Even allowing for the Italian club's battle with Treviso for the single Italian spot in next season's successor to the Heineken Cup, anything other than a Glasgow win would surely have demanded a stewards' inquiry.

 

But, I doubt if even the most one-eyed Warriors fan expected the drubbing which Tonny's team handed out. The Glasgow play in the first half, and particularly as they blasted home their four tries in the opening 20 minutes, was as good an example of the type of rugby their coach wants them to play as you could wish for.

 

They might not have scored four tries, but, I would wager Glasgow would have put clear water between themselves and any other side in the competition, has they replicated that display anywhere else.

 

That's they type of rugby we want to see from them, and, if they can get close to that performance again on Friday night, I doubt if even Munster will keep them at bay.

 

And, for Edinburgh to run Leinster so-close, well this was a world away from the ineptitude they showed against Munster, at Meggetland, just seven days previously.

 

A few more like that from the capital side, and, something akin to Glasgow's Italian job on a regular basis and, we will have little to fear about the progress of our professional teams.

 

Meanwhile, the debate as to how best we support thes two teams and build for the future will continue.

 

I must admit, I am a supporter of some sort of semi-professional league as a stepping-stone between the purely amateur club game and the professional one.

 

I also accept, getting this past a somewhat sceptical Scottish Rugby public at an agm will be difficult. Also, the SRU doesn't have a good track record when it comes to instituting and managing change and progress. This means, there is an awful lot of mistrust of the Murrayfield bufties across the game here.

 

Murrayfield has a big job winning hearts and minds, but, they must do this and, they must change things. They could start by devolving control of the amateur game to the Districts.

 

But, if a semi-pro league is to be set-up and run, the Union will have to slacken the purse strings a bit, in terms of facilities as much as in allowing players to be paid.

 

We really need a sensible, in-depth conversation about where we are, where we are going and where we want that destination to be. Then, with these matters sorted out, we need to commit to getting there.

 

If not, we are all doomed.

Glasgow's Team Ethic Has Told Against Individuals

TODAY'S announcement of the 2013-14 RaboDirect Pro12 Dream Team is almost a back-handed compliment to the coaching nous of Gregor Townsend. There again it might well be a combined Murphya-Taffia attack on the sportw-writing Cosa Nostra.

 

That Alex Dunbar should be the solitary Warrior named in the team is, well surprising; certainly Chris Cusiter, Jonny Gray and Strauss had, I feel, strong claims for inclusion. There again, the fact that we all wonder if Toonie knows what is his best side, given the number of changes he has made over the season, has told against his troops.

 

Also, the fact that at least one of the two Scottish rugby writers on the panel hasn't actually been covering Pro 12 rugby this season makes one wonder about how the panel who selected the side were chosen.

 

Ach, maybe it was chosen thus to give us miserable "Sweaties" something to moan about, you know how we simply love to be miserable.

 

Any way, hopefully, we will have the last laugh, since I honestly can see Warriors winning the whole damned thing, or, is that the kiss of death? After all, Scotland and Scottish teams don't have a great record when favourites.

 

Warriors showed their team spirit by the way they won ugly in Treviso on Friday night. It wasn't a great game, they didn't hit the heights they have, but, they found a way to get the job done and, if Gordy Reid is still uncapped by the end of the Summer - then the Scotland coaching staff haven't a clue about scrummaging.

 

 

 

Good too to see Scotland doing so-well at the Scotstoun Sevens. It is hard for us, having so-few professionals to select from, to run a consistent sevens programme alongside the 15-a-side one. Certainly the introduction of messrs Jones, De Luca, Vernon and the hugely under-rated James Eddie was a major boost to Stevie Gemmell and his core squad, but, clearly, finding the right balance between sevens and the main game will always be hard for the SRU.

 

We reached the last four, England won the Bowl and Wales the Vase - I just wonder how the British Olympic Association will go about chosing Team GB for the Sevens in Rio in 2016. I suppose, next season, the three Great Britain teams will continue as separate entities - but, might there be a case fora Team GB on the circuit in 2015-16 to prepare for the Olympics.

 

I would be tempted to hand things over to the continuing Lions organisation,  however, with Ireland, where sevens isn't really played, being able to enter a separate team for the Olympics, there are one or two territorial issues to overcome.

 

 

 

FINALLY, I ask a simple question - how much worse will Edinburgh get, before they begin to get better. Saturday night's effort at Meggetland was dismal in the extreme. One or two, aye you, David Denton, didn't seem too-bothered.