I Think We Need To Find Our European Heads Next Season

EUROPEAN Rugby returned at the weekend, with Scotland, as usual, on the outside looking in.

OK pedants, Edinburgh had a team on the park against Bordeaux Begles, but, they weren't really involved, I had lost interest long before the end, since it was obvious they were going out of the competition.

I am well aware, Scottish rugby has massive problems, beyond the need to get over Covid-19, but, I would suggest, as a matter of urgency, the SRU hires a top-quality sports psychologist, to go to work on the top two or three inches of their full-time professional players.

Physically, they are there, mentally, Ah hae ma doots. This failing needs sorting as a matter of urgency. Under Richard Cockerill, Edinburgh has developed the handy habit of getting into the knock-out phase in their competitions, but, something else needs to happen before they are genuine contenders.

WHAT WAS encouraging was the form of some of our guys who have taken the big money and left the SRU fort. Finn Russell, Stuart Hogg and Jonny Gray all performed impressively at the weekend, with Sam Skinner coming off the Exeter bench to good effect as well. Elsewhere, Duncan Taylor, Tim Swinson and on meagre rations, Sean Maitland all performed well for Saracens, for whom Callum Hunter-Hill again did well when he replaced Swinson.

Rory Hutchinson was again a major player for Northampton Saints, and, if Fraser Dingwall is not already committed to England, Jim Mallinder should be having a word or three in his ear.

Speaking of Saints, I had to feel for Gordy Reid, had the pandemic not struck, he could well have been lining-up for them against Exeter.

I HAD an interesting obituary to write last week, on the man who, on his death, forfeited the status of being Scotland's oldest living rugby internationalist. He was Logie Bruce-Lockhart of London Scottish.

 

Logie Bruce-Lockhart

The Bruce-Lockhart family has achieved much in Scottish rugby; Logie's dad Rufus was capped either side of World War I. Elder brother Rab was capped just before WWI and Logie himself won five caps between 1948 and 1953. Logie captained London Scottish, the club all three served, with Logie having a lengthy spell as captain.

Logie's grand-father, from Beith, was Headmaster at Speirs School – where Dave Shedden later learned the game, before hedaing to England. Rufus taught at Rugby and was Headmaster at Sedbergh, where Logie was Head Boy, before maintaining the family tradition of Headships at Gresham School in Norfolk. While his son Bede, a Scotland B cap, maintained the family connection with Scottish.

Rab was a Headmaster in New Zealand, before his final post, as Head at Loretto. John, another of Logie's brothers, was a distinguished diplomat and spy, then a successful businessman, while Patrick his third brother was an international fencer and a successful obstetrician. The wider Bruce-Lockhart family has its own page on Wikipedia and they are certainly a gifted lot.

Logie, a double Blue at Cambridge, where he also won a squash Blue, and obtained a double First in Modern Languages was widely regarded as the most-gifted Scottish stand-off of his time, but, was perhaps a wee bit too-much of a loose cannon for the Scottish selectors. He also suffered from the selectorial malaise of the many defeats at that time.

LBL put much into his 98 years, he truly was one of the best of his Golden Generation. I particularly liked the tale of how, as a Life Guards officer, in Hamburg on VE-Night, he requisitioned the contents of a Dutch barge in the harbour – fine wines and brandy – for the use of his troops in celebrating the end of hostilities in Europe.

Equally interesting was the story of how, joining the Glasgow to London train at Oxenholme in 1944, returning from some leave with his parents at Sedburgh, his knowledge of the poetry of Rupert Brooke, so entranced a young lady, Josephine Agnew, whom he met on the train, within weeks he had turned their brief encounter into a 64-year marriage. They broke the mould after LBL.

I AM WORKING on a couple of historical pieces at the moment. The research involves looking through The Glasgow Herald and Scotsman archives on the Google News pages. This can make for a fascinating day's browsing.

Some of the stuff they covered back in the day – District Courts, local council meetings, the daily routine of the gentry – fascinating. However, it is the sports coverage which really hits home as to how far we have fallen.

I have said this before, but, back in the 1960s and early 1970s, nobody farted anywhere in Scottish rugby but Bill McMurtrie, John Downie and Glen Stirling, Norman Mair and Reg Prophet, and the young whipper-snapper, Bill Lothian knew about it. Rugby had a media presence the game can only dream about today.

The variety of rugby coverage back in the day is also interesting. I looked up the Herald editions for the third Monday in September in 1960 and 1970. In 1960, for instance: the paper covered the opening of West of Scotland's new ground at Burnbrae, between West and Glasgow High School FP; there was also a picture of the opening of the extended grandstand at Hughenden and reports on the games between Hihhhead HSFP and Glasgow Accies and Edinburgh Accies and Kelvinside Accies.

There was a report on Selkirk winning their own Sevens and a report on the school match between Glasgow Academy and Hillhead High School. The comprehensive results section included details of six schools games and 39 club matches.

The sports pages included items on athletics, billiards, bowls, boxing, bridge, cricket, cross-country running, football (NO MENTION OF CELTIC AND RANGERS, OTHER THAN THEIR RESULTS) golf, hockey (mens and women's), rowing, show jumping,swimming, tennis and yachting.

In 1970, the rugby coverage comprised: a report of Watsonians' 16-13 win over Jordanhill College, one on Glasgow Accies beating Hillhead HSFP 35-15 and a report on Gala beating Queen's University to win the Selkirk Sevens.

The schools report was on Glasgow High School beating Kelvinside Academy 12-0, while there was also a report on the Jordanhill College School Jubilee Sevens, won by St Aloysius, who beat Greenock Academy in the final.

There were club selections, at the start of a busy week of matches, including some Glasgow & District Knock-Out Cup games. There was also the announcement of the St Andrew's University squad to play in a universities tournament in Rotterdam and a short report on Ireland losing to their hosts in Argentina. The usual comprehensive results service was also there.

As a decade previously, the sports pages covered a few other sports, including a lengthy report on the America's Cup races in the USA.

Pardon the indulgence here, but, the page also included the announcement of the Ayrshire team to face Renfrewshire later that week at Kilmarnock. Here are 15 names to savour for my Ayrshire readers. The team was: Niven Rose, Sandy Innes (both Dalry HSFP), DB Jackson (Kilmarnock), D McAlpine (Old Spierians), Stewart Hay (Ayr), Jimmy Mitchell (Cumnock), Iain Gillespie (Kilmarnock); Jock Craig (Ayr), Dickie Allen (Kilmarnock, Captain), Jim McGuffie, Billy Cuthbertson (both Marr), Jim Montgomery (Ayr), Jimmy Gibson (Kilmarnock), S Nichol (Marr), John McHarg (Irvine). That's a bloody good team.

Any way. Rugby no longer gets that sort of mainstream media coverage, it's up to the clubs, I feel, to plug the gap themselves. On which subject, I this week welcomed edition three of the new Glasgow Hawks online magazine - Hawks Onside, another great effort by Editor Alasdair Graham and the team. Keep it up lads.

 

I might suggest, this is an idea other clubs could copy.