Yes We're Upbeat, But, We Still Have Some Way To Go

I HAVE several (now former) rugby- playing friends, now part of the Caledonian Diaspora, in various parts of the world. All were, like me, disappointed at the final outcome, but, upbeat by the performance, following Saturday's match at BT Murrayfield.

Of course, we have been here before, there have been prior false dawns for Scottish rugby, but, we can hope, that, this time, we turn promise into performance and positive results in the weeks and months to come.

The introduction of Edinburgh's Cornell Du Preez into the squad is another positive step – he has shown, since arriving in the capital, he is a class act and I wish him well. I just wish the SRU would hurry-up and put in place a system whereby more of the exciting young talent we see in weekly action in the BT Premiership could take the step up to the professional ranks.

Given the SRU management group are keen to attract outside investment, we can take it, they will not be in the position to start the third professional team we need, to help Scotland better compete at the very-highest level.

We really need to take steps to close the gap between the two professional sides in the Guinness PRO12 and the BT Premiership. It is high time genuine efforts to get the oft-spoken about semi-professional league up and running.

For far too long, the leading club sides have been ignored by Murrayfield. But, that said, the clubs do not always help themselves. Some clubs still have this sense of entitlement – they have not been “top sides” or years, but, they still think they are. They do not have the infrastructure, or in some cases the organisation or desire to become leading semi-professional sides, but, they think they ought to be in there, and will find means to thwart any set-up which doesn't recognise that they ought to be there.

Then there is the tribalism which permeates so-much of Scottish life. We see it particularly in every Scottish sport.

For instance, last season the Club XV won both games, beating England and Ireland. Great, but, why is there not a Club XV Six Nations? This would be a great way of giving our top club players additional experience. Last summer the England squad that lost to Scotland in the Club XV International, toured South Africa. Why not our lads?

I would also like to see a Scotland B squad, or Under-23 squad, getting involved in games against the lesser European nations, to give our fringe professional players further experience – a lot of these guys don't play too-many games.

GPS “Phil” Macpherson, the inter-wars legend and captain of Scotland's first “Grand Slam”-winning side of the 1920s is among the latest tranche of inductees into World Rugby's Hall of Fame. Already a member of the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame, Macpherson joins: Ned Haig and Melrose RFC, Ian McGeechan, Gavin Hastings, David Bedell-Sevright, Jimmy Greenwood, Bill McLaren, Gordon Brown and Andy Irvine as an inductee into the Hall of Fame. Also in there are the Scots who were members of the original 1888 “British Lions” tourists in Australia and NewZealand. One of these is the great Dr John Smith, one of the legends of the early glory days of Scottish football.

Smith has scored two hat-tricks against England, but, while Rugby has honoured his membership of those first “Lions”, he is still waiting induction into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.