Dave Rennie Is About To Learn An Auld Scots Saying: I wants Don't Get.

ON OPENING my diary this morning, I noted I should have been going to Millbrae this afternoon, to cover the Ayrshire Bulls v Aberavon match, which would have been Bulls final fixture in the inaugural cross-border games between the FOSROC Super6 teams and the top six clubs nominated from the Welsh Premiership. By around five pm tonight, if not before, we should have known which teams would be playing in the knock-out stages of this new competition.

The question now is – will this competition ever take place? I can see, should professional rugby become more-compressed in the new post-pandemic reality of possible global recession, there may be a call for semi-professional rugby being more-important than the fully-professional game. However, money talks and I think we will still see, perhaps with fewer cubs, some form of full-time-professional rugby.

The departing Dave Rennie

It was interesting to see, in his valedictory message, prior to quitting Glasgow for the Australian Head Coach's job, Dave Rennie suggesting the two Scottish PRO14 clubs should be, through the formation of A teams, seeking admission to the Celtic Cup, a competition currently involving the A teams of the four Irish and four Welsh PRO14 sides.

Ah hae ma doots about The Junta taking up Rennie's advice, for that matter, why should the Irish and Welsh, already running a short, sharp competition which appears to work, seek to complicate it by involving two Scottish sides? An eight-team competition works neatly: eight quarter-finalists, two semi-finalists and two finalists. Throw in two more sides, getting 12 sides down to two finalists, that's a bit more work.

Also, given the never admitted to reason for going with the six franchises was saving money, given too that belts will need to be tightened in the wake of a pandemic, and given that, with less money coming in, the SRU will need to make cost cuts across the board, would The Junta be so bold as to embark on another professional/performance competition?

Probably, but, will the will to do this still be around given there will be some new faces among the elected officials inside BT Murrayfield?

Given the route map we have seen, or heard about, for emerging from the lockdown, I cannot see any rugby before August at the earliest – even assuming the powers that be can agree revised Laws to cope with any restrictions on movement and inter-personal contact by then.

Then, you look at the unfinished business to be cleared-up: the unplayed Six Nations games; finishing-off the 2019-20 Heineken Cup and PRO14 competitions. Given their importance in terms of commercial income, the Unions will surely want to get as many internationals as possible played as quickly ads possible.

Will the restrictions on crowds be lifted in time? So many questions, so few real answers. I don't see Scottish involvement in the Celtic Cup, assuming it continues, before season 2021-22 at the earliest.

South Korea, hitherto the model for how to handle this pandemic, has within the last two days, been forced to re-impose some restrictions. If the regime which set the template for how to handle things has been forced to crack down again – what chance for the likes of sport in the chaos of the UK, should we have a second spike?

I RECENTLY marked the passing of George Russell, Scottish Rugby's longest-serving rugby club president – having held that position with Moray House RFC for 50-years.

George was better-known across Scotland for his championing of the restoration of the SRU Museum at BT Murrayfield. Every AGM, without fail, George would raise the matter of the missing museum and, every AGM without fail, The Junta

would come up with an ever-more-spurious excuse as to why it wasn't happening.

George's death will not let them off the hook, I can tell those members of The Junta, and there are one or two, who avidly read Aristotle, some of George's friends are determined to honour his memory by taking up the cudgels on his behalf.

I had the honour of writing George's obituary for a national newspaper, and, since its publication, I have received several messages of thanks from guys who knew George, and who supported his fight for the museum

These good, solid rugby clubmen, to a man, also mentioned the abject failure of the SRU to mark George's passing on their website. I know for a fact, the news of his passing was intimated to The Junta, indeed, I am told our highly-paid Head of External Affairs had promised to ensure a tribute was published.

Sadly, Graham Law, just about the only guy in the place with a respect for the history of the game and the guys such as George who are part of that history, is currently furloughed.

In any case, what can you expect from the aforesaid Head of External Affairs - a guy who was so bad at the day job, in his chosen field, he was replaced by Wee Wullie Rennie. I despair.

George Russell deserved better from the SRU.

A Timely And Worrying Warning From Ireland

MAYBE the Irish have got it right when it comes to sport. Or perhaps not. Nothing is ever straight-forward where Paddy is concerned.

Great Britain's smaller neighbour has traditionally been the poor relation of the two largest islands in the British Isles archepeligo. A mainly agricultural economy with a tradition, perhaps stronger even than in Scotland, of the brightest and best leaving for the big island, or to Britain's larger former overseas colonies.

Scotland lost a lot of good people to the Clearances, Ireland lost a lot of good people to the Famine, but, while Ireland, t6he larger souther5n portion, has prospered as a member of the EU, the United Kingdom, under the bias towards English exceptionalism, has spat the dummy and left to an uncertain future.

In our game of rugby, since the decision to go open in 1995, England has surrendered real influence to a handful of clubs, while the three Celtic countries opted for a spell of more-centralised control.

In Scotland and Wales, the battle between the High Command at the top of the central Union and the clubs has been an ongoing squabble, while in Ireland, in spite of mutterings in the margins, the concept of provincial management under the central Union has, after a difficult start, prevailed.

It does of course help that in the whole of Ireland, North and South, there are a mere five full-time sports teams: Belfast Giants ice hockey team and the Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster teams which compete in the PRO14.

Certainly,each weekend during a normal football (either Association or Rugby) season, a sizeable number of Irish fans cross the Irish Sea, heading mainly for Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Manchester for their football fix, but, the five professional teams, plus the thousands of GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) teams continue to play and attract good crowds to their strictly amateur games of Gaelic Football and Hurling, while the leading football teams in the Irish League and the League of Ireland attract sufficient support to keep their semi-professional status alive.

So, by not blindly following the English pattern in sport, the impression is, Ireland has got it right.

However, articles in the Irish press this week have given the impression, all is not well in the smaller island, particularly in rugby.

IRFU CEO Philip Browne

In an hour-long interview with formerBritish and Irish Lion Keith Wood, on the Dublin-based Off The Ball media platform, Philip Browne, Chief Executive of the IRFU admitted:

“We simply can’t continue to operate on the basis of being dependent on the number of people we get through the stadium door and the ticket price we charge. In the case of the Aviva stadium it is 51,000 [capacity] – that’s as big as it gets. You can’t make it any bigger and there is only so much elasticity in ticket prices that the public will bear.

“So, we have to find new and additional sources of revenue. Certainy that whole digital space is where we believe there is a new return.”

However, later in the interview, Browne emphasised the dire financial need of supporters being allowed to return to stadiums.

“Certainly, the rugby economy is dependent on people coming through gates and watching matches. For the big international matches, if we don’t move back to a position where we have full houses pretty soon all major rugby unions are going to be in difficulty.”

The Irish management model is not that different from the one here in Scotland. OK, in Ireland, the four provincial unions seem to have greater autonomy from Dublin, at least as far as running the community game is concerned, although the four PRO14 teams also appear to have a lot more autonomy from Lansdowne Road than Edinburgh or Glasgow has from BT Murrayfield.

The model for funding Irish rugby is dependent on filling the Aviva stadium at least five times a year. The SRU model calls for filling Murrayfield five times per year. However, in the interview with Wood, Browne conceded: “This model is not sustainable in the short or long term.”

In the course of the same intervie, Browne indicated, because of this requirement to keep pulling the fans into the 51,000-capacity Aviva Stadium, the Irish are never going to agree to the oft-proposed first and second division Six Nations Championship, since one bad season and relegation would prove too-costly, the fans simply would not turn-up to watch Ireland v Portugal, Spain, Russia, Belgium or Romania – the current countries which, along with Georgia, compete in the tier below the Six Nations in European international rugby.

The Aviva is pretty-well unenlargeable, so the only way the IRFU would be able to squeeze more money out of there would be to increase the cost of tickets, and, as Browne admitted, there is a limit to how much more that might bring in.

There is always the alternative of having the GAA's Croke Park declared Ireland's “National Stadium,” hosting all football and rugby internationals, but, perhaps, given the history, best not go there.

However, perhaps the most-interesting, and also most-worrying thing which Browne said was: “Professional sport is a marginal business. We don’t bank huge reserves. We spent the money we earn [keeping the game in Ireland] going.

“The reality is cash is limited. Yes, we could go off and borrow but nobody should get engaged in borrowing funds unless they have some idea how they are going to repay them. At this point in time I have no idea how we would repay any debt we took on.”

Extrapolating that view across the Irish Sea to Scotland, and looking at the economics of sport in Scotland, I fear there is but one conclusion we could come to:

What Might Be With CVC

CVC Capital Partners is almost a model of discretion. This Luxembourg-based private equity company which now owns a sizeable chunk of professional rugby via its investments in the PRO14, the Gallagher Premiership and, since money talks – sooner rather than later, the Six Nations does tend to maintain a low profile, as it concentrates in making oodles of money for its investors.

Donald Mackenzie of CVC

The main man in the company is, naturally where really big money is concerned, a Scot – Jersey-based chartered accountant Donald Mackenzie. This Donald keeps a low profile and not a lot is known about him, He is a Merchistonian, whose alma mater is the University of Dundee. One of his contemporaries while he was at Merchiston was, apparently, a certain John Jeffery, who has just been appointed Chairman of The SRU. Some might say, a case of real influence around Murrayfield switching from Old Fettesians to Old Merchistonians.

There was an interesting quote, regarding the CVC investment in Rugby in an Irish Times article which I read: “So as ever, there will be winners and losers. The world of rugby is already loaded towards the biggest unions. The best players will follow the money, wherever that might be.

A small number of people may be about to get very rich. But at what cost?”

CVC's previous major investment in sport was its ownership of Formula One motor racing. They paid £1.4 billion to buy F1 from Bernie Ecclestone in 2006, then ran it – with Ecclestone continuing to be the main man – until selling it to Liberty Media in 2017, for £8 billion. It is estimated they made a return of over 300% on their investment over those 11 years of ownership.

However, to quote from a Guardian article, reviewing CVC's ownership of FI, and speculating on how CVC might impact on Rugby: “There was pursuit of profit at every possible level but with apparently little interest in making the experience better or more popular. It was a distasteful, cynical process that left F1 tarnished.”

We should remember, however, CVC owned F1 outright,they are only, for the moment buying minority stakes in the various rugby competitions – a stake which will, however, give them a major say in decisions taken as to how to govern the game going forward.

In motor racing, they (CVC) were only running the absolute top world-wide competition, the double cream of the game. By taking a share in the Six Nations, the PRO14 and the Gallagher Premiership, they will have a say in how we buy single cream, milk and butter.

During the period when CVC ran F1, the world governing body, the FIA still ran world motor sport. They might have authorised the British Racing Drivers Club to run the British Grand Prix, but, they needed Motorsport UK on-board to make it work, while that body continued to run all those club events, the rallies, moto-cross meets, the karting events and so on – the grass-roots part of the sport from which came Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, David Coulthard, Colin McCrae, Andrew Cowan and so on.

It is one thing, being the absolute rulers of the richest tier of an expensive sport, both to participate in and to watch, and another thing entirely being a minority shareholder in three of the professional tiers in a global sport with deep community routes.

To make the sort of money and achieve the sort of returns they are used to achieving, CVC will need to be a bit more co-operative and perhaps less goal-orientated than they were accused of being while involved in F1.

What happens going forward, particularly in light of changes in the game's structure which we may see post-pandemic, will, I believe, ensure, we will be living in interesting times for a wee while to come.

We may yet see a major split with that part of rugby which can be sold on television and be attractive to the guys who handle the sponsorship monies of big business, the part which includes the very-best players and the major stadia, being split-off from the real heartlands of club and community rugby.

But, should that happen, and it is a distinct possibility, leet's hope the grass roots game does not sell its birthright too-cheaply so that it can continue to thrive and offer the real rugby experience of being a club member, with a say in the sport, rather than merely a spectator, paying for the privilege of watching better players.

OTHER THAN, maybe some fellow Borderer, on whom he had stood during a particularly fiesty Border League game, I cannot think of anyone with a bad word to say about our new SRU Chairman, John Jeffrey.

John Jeffrey

He is, as one of the 1990 Immortals , a National Treasure, and we all wish him well in his new post. But, and what a pity there has to be a but, his elevation to the Chairmanship has not been met with the ringing of bells and universal jubilation.

This is mainly because, JJ's transition from: “The White Shark,” permanently stretching the offside line to its limits and beyond, rampaging around the park knocking over opponents and spreading mayhem during his 40-cap Scotland career; helping to temporarily convert the Calcutta Cup to the Calcutta Plate; well, what red-blooded rugby-enjoying Scot could not warm to that guy.

John Jeffrey, co-opted member of the SRU Council, nominated SRU representative on the World Rugby Council, nominated Scottish Rugby representative on, and Chairman of Six Nations Rugby, well, that John Jeffrey is a different beast entirely – all those nominations, and not once having to stand for election by his peers within Scottish rugby – that makes JJ the ultimate insider.

To be fair, JJ is at the moment, only interim Chairman. But, as we know, once you're inside the BT Murrayfield bubble, at a high-enough level, it's very-difficult for you to be got rid of if you don't perform.

I have a lot of time for and confidence in JJ, but, I would like to see him, should his interim chairmanship prove to be a longer tenure, standing-up at the AGM and giving us, the poor bloody infantry of the game here, an idea of his vision and route map for the way ahead, which looks like being a particularly arduous, not to say rocky, road.

Money Blindness In Professional Rugby

MADNESS, we are told, is keeping doing the same thing – which hasn't worked – in the hope of a different outcome. I fear, when Rugby Union eventually escapes from the current Covid-19 nightmare, we may see, at the highest professional club level, the same sort of madness which has got these leading clubs into trouble.

Scottish Rugby Union Ltd, (as opposed to The Scottish Rugby Union – there is a difference) owns and runs Scotland's two full-time professional teams: Edinburgh and Glasgow. Thanks to The Junta's ongoing ability to hide their accounts behind more smoke and mirrors than Paul Daniels, Penn and Teller, David Copperfield, Ali Bongo and David Nixon combined ever could, just how much running these two teams costs the SRU each year is an even more-deeply buried state secret than all the political/royal scandals you might care to name. But, we can surmise, running these two teams is a costly, loss-making business.

But, compared to the financial black hole which is England's Gallagher Premiership, or the Welsh regions, we in Scotland are probably running a tight ship. Just this week, The Guardian ran a story in which Stephen Vaughan, Wasps' Chief Executive suggested every top club in England is running at a loss.

However, in spite of this revelation, which hardly came as a surprise given the clubs' record of reporting losses in recent seasons, the suggestion is: it should be business as usual when the lockdown ends.

Charles Piutau - Bristol want to go on paying him megabucks

There are some suggestons England's salary cap and “marquee players” regulations might need to be tightened-up. However, not all the clubs are singing from the same hymn sheet on this – Bristol Bears – owned by Guernsey-based billionaire Stephen Lansdown, for instance, want to carry-on as before, paying £1 million per year salaries to the likes of Charles Piutau.

Billionaires such as Lansdown, or Saracens' Nigel Wray may well be able to survive the pandemic better than most, that might well embolden them to play hard ball with the various Unions when it comes to controlling players etc. It will be interesting to see how things pan out.

My view? Well some years back, in the column he then wrote for The Herald, John Beattie suggested professionalism in rugby might lead in time to a hybrid form of the game, taking the better elements from both Rugby League and Rugby Union. This game, which (if memory serves me correctly) the former Lion turned media luvvie suggested might simply be called “Rugby” would be bankrolled by a media conglomerate and have very narrow depth.

Below this elite level, the two codes would simply carry-on as before. The two codes would co-exist side by side, continuing to offer sport at whatever level, below elite, at which the players wished to play.

Beattie's concept might have “legs” when we come out of the pandemic.

I HAVE mentioned Marr man Jim Park, currently doing missionary work in the Sudentenland, in this blog before. Last week Jim sent me a clipping from the New Zealand Herald; apparently, in an effort to get play resumed sooner rather than later, the great brains of World Rugby are considering which possible law amendments might be required, in view of the contact aspects of Rugby Union not sitting well with “social distancing.”

Among the things being looked at, apparently, is a move to temporarily outlaw scrums and mauls. I don't know, could your average English professional cope with a game in which the ball would be in-play for an additional 20 minutes – the time we would gain from all those needless scrum resets? And, without the maul what would they do?

Other suggestions include making lines out uncontested. For me, if the referees are not going to start policing scrums properly, and the powers-that-be are not interested in properly sorting-out the unfair mess which the maul has become, then why bother.

Could Tag Rugby be the resumption point?

We could start our return to play by playing that New Zealand form of touch rugby, involving strips, attached to shorts by velcro - “Tag Rugby” I think they call it. At least, that would get the players running about, and into the habit of tackling low.

I think, given the contact element of the game, it will be a long time yet before we see rugby resume. Maybe by the time we do, hard fiscal facts will have forced reality on the decision-makers at the top of the game.

THERE ARE two waitresses who are legends in world sport. The first is “Heidi,” the friendly fraulein who offered home comforts to (allegedly) half the Scotland squad at the 1974 World Cup in Germany. The second is “Suzie,” the South African lady who supposedly “poisoned” several All Blacks prior to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final.

Well, the New Zealand herald has, nicely-timed to fit in with today being the 25^th anniversary of that tournament starting, run a story in which the Head of Security for that tournament points out the obvious, saying: “The All Blacks who contracted food poisoning had all eaten sea food, everyone knows seafood is a source of food poisoning, it was their own fault.”

Good to know, there is no time limit on ill-feeling between Saffers and Kiwis.

FINALLY – the latest tweet from “The twittermeister,” former Scotland prop Gordon Reid, is well up to the high standard of tomfoolery Big Gordy has maintained over the past year. Following-on from his exploits in Japan, his songs of praise to Irn-Bru and Buckfast, and his Kurt Russell cameo as a life-saving hero of a fire, the latest Reid video clip, posted on Facebook over the weekend, has him roller-blading along Ayr Promenade.

The Mossblown, rather than the Kansas City Bomber

The sight of a 19 stone prop forward, on roller blades, cutting a swathe along the Lang Scots Mile on the seafront will surely do wonders for Ayr's rebirth as a holiday destination.

No offence Gordy, but, I'd rather watch Racquel

Get Gordy back playing – he has finally flipped.

A Well-Timed Windfall

THE STEREOTYPE used to be the “Canny Scot,” the ultra-cautious accountant or book-keeper, counting every last penny and forecasting doom and gloom if that money was ill-advisedly squandered.

Lately, however, with the rise of such cliched characters as “Scotty” in Star Trek, Private Fraser in Dad's Army and my favourite Pictish philosopher, Groundskeeper Willie in The Simpsons, your “Canny Scot,” has evolved into a Cannae Scot - “Ye cannae rewrite the Laws of Physics Man,” (Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott, USS Enterprise); “We're awe doomed, doomed Ah tell ye,” (Private Fraser, Warmington-on-Sea Home Guard).

It is another old cliché that the best Scots of each generation always emigrate – either via the High Road to England, or venturing off to the old colonies of the former British Empire, but, I refuse to believe only the naturally subservient are happy to remain back here and be ordered about by our colonial masters from south of the Solway and Tweed.

Given the above, I was not at all surprised at initial below the line reactions to yesterday's announcement of – finally – a deal between Celtic Rugby, who run the Guinness PRO14 and the Luxembourg-based CVC Capital Partners. The deal is believed to be worth some £120 million to the four Unions: FIR, IRFU, SRU and WRU who together own Celtic Rugby.

One or two early commenters were wondering why we Scots appear to be getting a smaller share of this new money than the Irish and Welsh Unions – in the process totally ignoring the obvious, each of our Celtic cusins has four teams in the league, to th two teams of us and the Italians.

Still, at this time of huge financial uncertainty, a £20 million-plus contribution to the SRU finances is not to be sneezed at. Like many, I would love to see us having at least three, and better still four teams in the PRO14. But, the reality is, irrespective of suggestions of the SRU Junta wanting a degree of control over how any third or fourth team would be managed which would make outside investors wary of getting involved, I doubt if, in colonial Scotland, with the big decisions made in London, there are companies big enough to take-on, and more-importantly willing to become involved, in running a professional rugby team in Scotland.

So, let's not wish for what we are unlikely to have, this side of five to ten years after Independence – and assuming better governance than we currently enjoy at national level – a soaraway Scottish economy, and just be thankful for small mercies.

We're in trouble Dom, Aristotle is praising us, I think.

Given how hard things are likely to be for the next two or three years, as we slowly emerge from this pandemic, that money is going to be very useful, and, while we might have our doubts about how they run the playing side of the game in Scotland, in their commercial and financial control of matters it is difficult to be too-hard on that hard to love duo, TCD and LL-B, or Dodson and Dom as they are known.

I will be watching developments with interest.

A FRIEND of this blog, (no tittering at the back there), this week sent me a copy of the FFR's return to play protocols for the grass-roots French clubs.

This is a six step process, designed to gradually take their ordinary clubs to the verge of resuming playing. Of course, when this comes into play is a matter for the French government, and how quickly they release their own lockdown contingencies.

It is, on the face of it, easy to imagine each stage lasting a different length of time. It may be possible to move from one stag to the next a week apart. In other stages, the clubs might have to remain at the lower level of fredom for anything up to four weeks, before restrictions are eased and they can move on.

Of course, a sudden spike in the number of Covid-19 cases could lead to a second shut-down and a return to stage one, with a consequently longer build-up period. Also, how they are handling things on a natonal scale might be different from the approach of the five national governments within the British Isles, so, the French road map back to normality might not be suitable for transfer to the British Isles.

But, let's be optimistic and say, within three months of being cleared to resume rugby activities at the most-basic level one, the French are ready to play full contact rugby (although that I think is being very optimistic). Will we in Scotland be at that level? Or will we be some weeks behind?

The Scottish Government is planning on starting its phased return to normality route map next week. There are a lot of caveats around it, but, my reading of it is that, all being well, we will still not be at a stage where we are anywhere close to playing a contact sport such as rugby come the date for the start of next season in September.

We will then, assuming all is going well, still be required to observe social distancing by then – so, realistically, I don't see us being back playing rugby this side of the Bells. I may be wrong, but, that's my reading of the route map.

Even then, there is no mention of allowing the sort of crowds we would expect at top club games, far less a full-house Murrayfield, or even for an 1872 Cup game. The lockdown for rugby looks like being a long one – and I fear the damage that might do.

Still, let's look on the bright side, we might be forced to look at restructuring our season and, who knows, summer rugby might catch-on. Let's not be too pessimistic.

FINALLY, I wish Tim Swinson well in the next stage of his career. It might seem a bit off to refer to the big man as a “journeyman” player, given he has over 30 Scotland caps. But, as he would admit himself, Tim was never a star, but, if you could get the better of him in a game, well you had a chance of being a star yourself.

Tim Swinson - the best may yet be to come

He has given great service to Glasgow over the years, but, I feel his best contribution to Scottish rugby may still be to come. He was the guy who had the idea of a Scottish players union and, if his next step is to see him continue the work he started and take the union forward, Scotland rugby players as yet unborn might well have cause to raise a glass to big Tim.

He has had a good career, and may well have his best years ahead: Gaun yersel Big Yin.

And It's Goodbye From Them

SPEAKING to another of Scottish Rugby's 'Silverbakcs' this week, he commented: “Times must be really hard for you guys in the rugby media – even Barney is struggling to find things to write about.”

Very true, I just produce this drivel to keep my hand in, how the likes of the wonderful Mr Barnes, running a commercial operation, remains sane at this time is a mystery to me.

But, there are occasional nuggets to be chewed over – such as the current announcements of new signings and leavers from our full-time professional clubs.

Ruaridh Jackson - the best moustache in rugby is retiring

Sadly, with the game in lockdown, such good and faithful servants as John Barclay and Ruaridh Jackson or Leone Nakarawa (If he does move on from Glasgow) or Callum Gibbins will be denied the tear-stained, emotional farewell they probably deserve. That is regrettable, mind you, I would love to see the two Scots doing an Andy Henderson an Alan Bulloch or Pat McArthur and stepping down to spend maybe a couple of seasons with a top club side, passing-on their expertise to the next generation.

In some respects, Edinburgh and Glasgow have, I think, recruited some core supporters who do not fit the template for traditional rugby fans. Like supporters of our bigger football teams, they follow that team, rather than the game in general. If football is any guide, such fans would love to see their side recruiting big stars, whom they pay a lot of money for very little, and with no regard for the cost implications – whereas the more-traditional rugby fan would rather see the club he used to play for advancing on the back of home-grown talent which has been nurtured since micro-mini rugby.

I can see, in the much-altered face of rugby union in Scotland which will follow this pandemic, see our two professional sides being forced to use more home-grown talent. OK, like everyone else, I enjoy seeing X-factor players such as Nakarawa, Matawalu, van der Merwe (both of them) or Mata playing for a Scottish team, but, regardless of the Alan Hansen dictum about young players, I'd prefer to see these guys sprinkling their stardust over home-bred, Scottish talent.

In this respect, given his track record at Northampton Saints, perhaps Jim Mallinder will be the man to put in place a system whereby we have exciting, well-schooled, young Scottish talent, augmented by genuine world-class star talent, playing regularly for our two top sides.

I AM already beginning to feel sorry for Ian Barr, who is not due to take-up the toxic challenge of being SRU President until August. Where the bold Ian is concerned, he's already a Dickens novel – everyone has Great Expectations, given the low approval ratings Dee Bradbury currently has, and the even lower reputation enjoyed by her immediate predecessor.

The thing is, being President is a lot harder these days than it was in the good old days of the SRU General Committee. Back in the day, 'Alickadoos' such as the great Lord Bannerman, Hector Monro or Ian McGregor could spend 20-years scrambling up the greasy pole for that one year as president.

By the time they got there, they knew where most of the bodies were buried and had forged strong bonds with their contemporaries among the 'blazeratti' of the other countries. Back then too, the paid executives were very-much the secretariat of the game – the big decisions were still made by the elected representatives of the clubs.

If Mr Barr can lead a return to these days, he will have done the game a great service.

So, as I said, already there are great expectations around the incoming President. So, sorry Ian, but, here's another line for your already extensive “to do list.”

I have just filed an obituary on the late George Russell, a true rugby man to his core: for 50-years president of Moray House RFC, a former Edinburgh District Union player and selector, an Edinburgh selector – perhaps best-remembered in this role for championing the promotion to the full Edinburgh squad of one Bruce Hay, then with junior side Liberton.

George also served in the refereeing arm of Scottish rugby, on the grading and appointments committee, while he was a highly-popular liaison officer with various touring teams in Scotland. Along the way, he filled all 15 positions for Moray House, for whom he played until a hip replacement operation caused him to finally hang-up his boots, aged 72.

Then, as Chief Steward at Murrayfield, he kept most of the riff-raff out of the posh seats and away from Princess Anne.

However, he will be best-remembered for his long and still unwon fight to have the SRU remember where the game came from and re-establish a proper Scottish Rugby Museum at BT Murrayfield.

The high heid yins will not allow me anywhere near Headquarters, but, I am assured by those journalists who have a season ticket to the fun and games, no SRU AGM was complete before, under “Any other business” the bold George challenged the powers-that-be as to when we might see this long-promised by as yet undelivered museum actually delivered.

George, sadly, died earlier this month, aged 90, but, I know one or two of his mates among the golden oldies of Edinburgh and beyond are determined to see his long fight succeed.

So, I am happily adding my weight to the campaign. Come on Ian Barr: “DAE SOMETHIN'” and realise George's dream.

And, I can warn The Junta, George Russell might no longer be with us, but, his fight goes on, and will keep going until, hopefully sooner rather than later, it is won.

I had a couple of pictures of George, on a single jpeg, but, unfortunately the ability to split them and merely show the one I wanted to use proved beyond me. Sometimes this technology is way too much for an old hot metal man like what I am.