Six Months Of Feverish Expectation and Tittle-Tattle : Haud Me Back

WE HAVE had the feverish speculation – what is going to happen. On Saturday, we were told – there will be a “Super Six” franchised, semi-professional clubs established, in a new level of the game: above the club game, but, below the full-time Edinburgh and Glasgow professional sides.

Now comes the hard bit – making it happen.

Aristotle has one piece of advice on this issue – for the best explanation of how things will evolve from here: go to David Barnes's excellent website – The Offside Line. In fact, if you want to know what is happening in Scottish rugby, go there, it has the mainstream media whacked.

 David Barnes - his site doesn't have all, but has most of the answers

The site can be found at: https://theoffsideline.com/

The next six months will see feverish activity. The tender documents go out to interested clubs “in the autumn of 2017”. Since speed is off the essence, hopefully this will be September, rather than November.

Because, completed tenders have to be back at Murrayfield in time to be scrutinised, and any questions arising answered, to allow the announcement of the Super Six to be made in February, 2018. So, any clubs or consortiums of clubs interested, has less than six months to put their bid together.

And questions there will be. I spoke with one influential veteran of one of the clubs supposedly in the vanguard of likely Super Six franchises, and he had one question: define semi-professional?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines it thus: “Receiving payment for an activity but not relying entirely on it for a living.”

‘a semi-professional musician’.

Well, pardon me, but, is that not what is already happening with a good number of the clubs in the BT Premiership?

We already have semi-professional clubs, this label is regularly tagged onto Ayr and Melrose, our two leading Premiership sides, so, to an extent, semi-professional rugby is already here.

If we assume, and it is by no means certain – Ayr and Melrose get two of the six franchises, who will go for the other four?

At the moment, there is the system whereby fringe players from the two professional sides are drafted to the Premiership clubs. This appears to work quite well with Glasgow, less-well with Edinburgh in the past. Apparently, when the Super Six is up and running this will stop.

So, in the short term, there will be a perception of a dilution in quality in players, from now – that cannot help in establishing this new strata of rugby in Scotland. This may need attention.

There is an assumption from Murrayfield that clubs will be happy to see their better players move up to play for the Super Six. Am I alone in thinking this shows just how out of touch HQ is from the realities of the club game in Scotland.

Talk about “Anyone But England” tee-shirts. In some Ayrshire clubs you could sell “Anyone But Ayr” tee-shirts, and, I dare say you could market similar garments, with the name of the “big” club changed throughout Scotland.

The clan system might have withered and died, but, in Scottish sport, it is still strong. This might seem unfair on the Millbrae club, but, they are being seen as the likeliest to bite at the new system. Although not everyone in the Burns Country is on-board and singing from the one hymn sheet.

One weel-kent Millbrae stalwart said to me this week: "This whole Super Six idea - it's a load of shite".

I know, IF they go for it, and are accepted, it will not be as “Ayr” - President Billy McHarg has suggested an Ayr-based franchise will be “Ayrshire Bulls” - for the simple reason, the other potential feeder clubs would never stand for “Ayr”, but might buy-into an Ayrshire side.

You will probably see this same naming tactic adopted by other potential franchisees. “Glasgow Eagles” rather than “Glasgow Hawks”; “Midland Counties” rather than “Stirling County”; “Grampian Gladiators”, assuming the long hankered-after Granite City super club ever happens.

Why, we could even perhaps see: “Border Reivers” re-born. Down there in the rugby heartlands, they might buy that, if home games are rotated and every club gets its turn – a go-it-alone Melrose bid will I feel sure, lead to all-out warfare.

 Could they come back as one of the Super Six

My biggest doubts are in two areas. Firstly, this plan calls for give and take on both sides, previous examples of clubs supposedly banding together to form a “super club” - Glasgow South and Dundee in the 1960s and 1970s, Kilmarnock-Ayrshire, also in the 1970s, have all foundered on accusations that the super club took, but did not give back. Even Hawks which has by and large worked well, has never quite managed to convince the chaps on both sides of the Anniesland hedge to fully buy-into the concept. Hence the fact both Accies and GHK are now in the National Leagues.

My second concern is, the “blazers” have stressed one of the driving forces was the concern of some clubs over player payments. Clubs, apparently, were being “forced” to pay players, simply to compete.

One Borders club has been the butt of a whispering campaign on this issue – we heard tales of the recruitment of players from one of the leading Borders side, dropping three or four leagues, because this ambitions junior club was paying more than the toon's long-established and successful senior club.

Jealousy is always a bad reason for change. The SRU is hoping the club game, below the Super Six will be whiter-than-white amateur, players playing for the love of the game. Two words – Aye Right!!

As have said before, this new plan MIGHT work, but, can the SRU make it work? Because, over the next six months, they are going to have to overcome an awful lot of opposition and go through a lot of anguish.

Finally, can I suggest to Murrayfield, there is one thing you have got very wrong – and that is your plan for the levels below the Super Six. A “Championship”, under-pinned by three National Leagues.

To me, that is at least two divisions too many. The plan seems to be to have the Super Six as 21^st century District XVs. Well, go with this, but, make the levels below there – District Leagues. Cut down the travel, the costs, beef-up the rivalries.

Tom Johnston - could have some ideas for Mark Dodson

I would suggest to Mark Dodson, pop along to Hampden Park, have a word with Tom Johnston, who runs the Scottish Junior FA, then organise Scottish club rugby, below the Super Six, as the 15-a-side version of Junior Football.

A Scottish Junior rugby Cup – now, that would be a competition and a half.