Super Six Five - The Aristotle Armstrong Solution

OVER the last four posts, I have given careful and detailed consideration to the Super Six franchise document. During this time, I have had a fair bit of feed-back, from members of the broader Scottish rugby community, and the most-common thing I have heard is: “OK smart-arse, you've had a go at Murrayfield – so, what would you do?”

If I was in Mark Dodson's shoes, I'd do this

Well, for a start, I would not do what the SRU is proposing and start six new franchises. If they want to see more players ready to play at PRO14 level and beyond – then the cost of this should come out of SRU central funds. As the SRU's plans currently stand, as per the consultative franchise document: there would only be limited financial input from Murrayfield. It seems to me, the top clubs – or at least six of them - are being asked to take a huge financial risk, with no guarantee of a return.

By all means offer a pathway whereby our new Academy graduates can be better-prepared for the tougher tasks. Well, start a third professional side, even if this team, as Connacht was originally envisaged, is a “Development” side, charged with getting younger professionals prepared for joining Edinburgh and Glasgow.

But, if the SRU must go down the road of a Super Six, and, as I have said previously – I do not see how it could work properly, then these six franchised clubs MUST become true DISTRICT teams, filling the function of the District sides of the amateur era. It will be up to these clubs, and the SRU, to make them centres of excellence – and to persuade the lesser clubs in the Districts to co-operate with them in a two-way flow of players and interest.

I would leave the BT Premiership as it is. This is a good competition, the teams play a high- quality brand of competitive, entertaining rugby; all it needs is to be “sold” better; so the mainstream media, which by and large ignores it, realised and bought into what a good competition it is.

But, I have to accept, not every Premiership player has the potential to be a full-time professional. Yes, it is good to see the Stage Two and Three Academy players, and the fringe full-time professionals playing in it, but, we need some sort of competition, as a staging point between the very top of the club game and the professional one – the gap Super Six is supposedly going to fill. OK, fill it, with the return of an old favourite. Bring back the Inter-District Championship, but, increase the number of “District” sides.

When the Inter-District Championship was going, back in the amateur days, there were five teams involved: the Anglo-Scots, Edinburgh,Glasgow, North and Midlands and the South. In the revived edition I am suggesting, it could be possible to have an eight-team competition, involving: Edinburgh, Exiles, Glasgow, London Scottish, the Midlands, the North, the South and the South West. If they play each other home and away, that's a 14-game season, more than enough additional games on top of the 18-game BT Premiership campaign.

A filtering process

Such a competition would be an ideal means of filtering out the squad for the Club International XV, and the Under-20 squad, given a lot of the players involved would be Academy students.

The Exiles would be drawn from outwith Scotland, but, excluding London Scottish, while the South-West is a team drawn from the lower geographic end of the Glasgow District – basically Ayrshire and Renfrewshire and Dumfries and Galloway. The other District boundaries are already known and obvious.

Such a competition would I think test the best of the Premiership players, plus the more-promising players from the level below. I think it would work.

I would do away with two of the three current National Leagues, below the Premiership. I can see a case for having more than a mere ten sides playing nationally, but believe rugby should be, as outlined in Agenda 3 and in the Super Six consultative documents, totally amateur. I would therefore have District Leagues, and, here again, I would split the Glasgow and North and Midlands Districts. The South West would be hived-off from Glasgow, the North and Midlands would revert to being separate Districts.

And, what I would also do, is have two separate divisions within the SRU. The Murrayfield professionals would, as they currently do, run the High Performance arm of Scottish rugby – the national team, the age group teams and the three full-time professional sides. Below that, I can see some merit in having joint managerial overview with technical input from the High Performance arm, in the Premiership, provided the clubs had the final say, while the amateur game should, as happens in football, be administered by a separate organisation.

The Clubs Must Have Their Say 

Football has the grass-roots game managed by in particular the Scottish Junior FA, I would like to see a Scottish Junior Rugby Union doing a similar job in our game. The SJFA is run by a skeleton staff inside Hampden Park, National Secretary Tom Johnson, Assistant Secretary and Treasurer Ian McQueen and a small office staff. The bulk of the organisation is done by the volunteer officials of the three Regional Associations – the West, East and North of Scotland Junior FAs. These volunteers come from the clubs – the clubs are in-charge.

They organise and run the leagues and cups – apart from the National Scottish Junior Cup – they allocate the referees, look after most of the finances, run the disciplinary procedures and so on. It works in football, it could also work in rugby.

  How It Might Look

Premiership: Ayr, Boroughmuir, Currie Chieftains, Glasgow Hawks, Hawick, Heriot's, Marr, Melrose, Stirling County, Watsonians.

National League: Aberdeen GSFP, Cartha-Queen's Park, Dundee HSFP, Edinburgh Academical, Falkirk, Gala, GHA, Jed-forest, Kelso, Musselburgh, Selkirk, Stewart's-Melville FP.

The clubs in these two divisions would be allowed to pay their players – there should be a presumption of semi-professionalism abroad in the Premiership, and, a movement towards the infrastructure expected of the proposed Super Six.

Clubs at this level should have 4G pitches and good spectator facilities. They should, as now, have access to the fringe professionals and Academy students.

Taking current league memberships and positions into consideration, the truly-amateur local leagues might, initially, look like this:

Edinburgh District Division One: Broughton FP, Corstorphine Cougars, Dunbar, Forrester, Haddington, Lasswade, Linlithgow, Livingston, Murrayfield Wanderers, Portobello, Preston Lodge, Ross High.

Edinburgh District Division Two: Barnton, Dalkeith, Edinburgh Northern, Edinburgh University Medics, Inverleith, Leith, Liberton, Lismore, Penicuick, RDVC, Trinity Academicals.

Glasgow District Division One: Allan Glen's, Cambuslang, Dalziel, East Kilbride, GHK, Glasgow Academicals, Greenock Wanderers, Hamilton, Hillhead-Jordanhill, Oban Lorne, West of Scotland, Whitecraigs.

Glasgow District Division Two: Birkmyre, Clydebank, Cumbernauld, Glasgow University Medics, Helensburgh, Lenzie, Loch Lomond, Paisley, Strathaven, Strathendrick, Uddingston, Waysiders-Drumpellier.

Glasgow District Division Three: Bishopton, Cowal, Hyndland, Isle of Mull, Lanark, Lochaber,Police Scotland Glasgow, Shawlands FP.

Midlands District Division One: Alloa, Blairgowrie, Carnoustie HSFP, Dunfermline, Glenrothes, Grangemouth Stags, Hillfoots, Howe of Fife, Kinross, Kirkcaldy, Madras, Panmure.

Midlands District Division Two: Aberfeldy, Angus Development, Arbroath, Bannockburn, Bo'ness, Crieff and Strathearn, Dundee University Medics, Morgan, Rosyth, Stobswell, Waid Academy FP.

North District Division One: Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen Wanderers, Banff, Caithness, Ellon, Garioch, Gordonians, Highland, Mackie Academy FP, Moray, Orkney, Perthshire.

North District Division Two: Aberdeen University Medics, Deeside, RAF Lossiemouth, Ross Sutherland, Shetland, Stornoway, Strathmore.

South District League: Berwick, Biggar, Duns, Earlston, Gala YM, Hawick Harlequins, Hawick Linden, Langholm, Moffat, Peebles, St Boswell's.

South-West District League: Annan. Ardrossan Academicals, Carrick, Cumnock, Dumfries Saints, Garnock, Irvine, Kilmarnock, Millbrae, Newton Stewart, Stewartry, Wigtownshire.