In The Blue Ridge Mountains Of Murrayfield - On The Trail Of Rugby Success

 Stan and Olly - who wears London Scottish's blazer and who the SRU's

WHICH one is Stan and which is Olly? That's my response to the tiff between London Scottish and the SRU, and the termination, after just four months, of the loudly-trumpeted player development agreement between the two parties. Because, make no mistake, this is another fine mess they've got us into.

I do not presume to know all the details of the deal and how and why it fell apart so-spectacularly and so-quickly, but, I can presume, with a degree of certainty – there were faults on both sides.

1. Were the two sides totally honest in what they wanted, during the preliminary discussions?
2. Was their an agreed common goal at the end of it?
3. Was the pathway towards that goal set out and understood?
4. Was a properly worked out management structure in place?
5. Was it costed properly?

These are just a few of the questions which the wider Scottish rugby public will want answered. This tie-in between Scottish and the Scottish Exiles community and the SRU was an opportunity to provide professional rugby for a greater number of Scottish players. With its failure, the immediate question for the SRU is: Is there a Plan B, and, what is it?

Will we see these questions answered any time soon? Hopefully, barring some sort of response before then, I would hope someone will raise it, if not before, under 'Any Other Business' at the SRU annual general meeting.

For my part, I can see one big problem, for London Scottish. That is, what, in the 21^st century, does this grand old club seek to be? Does it still wish to be a Caledonian enclave in the heart of English rugby, or, does it seek to become a leading English club, because, under RFU rules, these roles are incompatible.

For most of its long history, Scottish was one of the leading clubs within the RFU, regularly fielding XVs comprising mainly top English-based Scottish internationalists or Scottish-qualified players. The current first XV still contains some Scottish-qualified players, but, they are now in the minority.

If Scottish strives to get back to where it was, in the top flight of the English club game, then, its unique selling point – its Scottishness, will by necessity have to be diluted. Because, quite simply, if Scottish is to win promotion out of the Championship into the English Premiership, once in there, they will be required to have 70% of their match-day 23. “England-qualified”. In numbers, this means they will require to strip 17 Englishmen, or England-qualified men, for every game, leaving a maximum of just six Scots able to pull on the famous navy blue shirt each game.

Whaur's yer Scottish noo, is surely the response to that. 'London Scottish', playing in the Aviva Premiership with a token handful of Scottish players, well, it simply would not be London Scottish. Also, Scottish, in the top-flight in England, could not, because of the eligibility rules, be part of any Scottish player development project.

So, if the joint development project with the SRU was to work, the Scottish management would have to forget all about promotion and playing at the highest level. What, therefore, would be in it for the club and the guys running it? Some would surely want to get back to hosting and visiting Harlequins, Leicester, Wasps, Bath, Gloucester and so on on a regular basis. They would want to play at the highest level possible. How would they take to being told: “No you have to settle for the second tier”.

Mind you, in club statements, London Scottish have stressed, they see the Championship as being the perfect vehicle for proper development of young Scottish players. OK, but, even while they accept this, they would also, it seems to me, want to have the best young Scottish players seconded to them.

There were problems with the youngsters who were sent to Richmond during the four-month agreement period. Andy Davidson's dad had to buy a bed long enough to accommodate his six foot eight inch son – who has now joined Newcastle Falcons, perhaps unimpressed by the SRU/Scottish set-up. Davidson certainly did not linger long in Richmond, before returning to play the second half of the season, mostly in the Glasgow Hawks 2^nd XV!!

 Andy Davidson - a short stay in London, in more ways than one

We hear rumours that the Scottish coach had: “Lost the dressing room” during the season. Certainly a good few players have left the club. Was there a difference of opinion, or of how things should progress between the established guys at Richmond and Messrs Lineen and Grant, both of whom are now back at Murrayfield?

Of the others sent south - Robbie Fergusson has now signed-on permanently with Scottish, he was the only one sent down to Richmond to get a regular game, although Jack Cosgrove and George Horne were squad regulars, used mainly as impact subs.

I am still trying to work-out what happened with Rory Hughes. He is already a full cap, he scored five tries in four games for Scottish, before returning to either sit in the stand or on the bench for Warriors – he should surely have made a greater impact at Richmond.

I still believe, the answer is – London Scottish, as a full-time, London-based professional rugby team, playing as a Scottish side, in the Pro12. To me, no other scenario makes sense.

FINALLY, good luck to the Scottish players in the GB Royals and GB Lions Sevens squads who will be warming-up for Rio. Now that Lee Jones has been added to the mix, I can see us having a few guys in Rio in August.

Lee Jones scoring for Glasgow, now he's in the GB Sevens squad