Let's All Give Maximum Support To Gavin

OK, this is a busy weekend of rugby – with the final three matches in the 2020 Six Nations, plus a full PRO14 programme, but, I hope the Scottish rugby community, and in particular the Glasgow branch, can take their eyes off their TV screens long enough to help one of our own in a very important effort.

 

 

Because Gavin Blackburn, (pictured above), a weel-kent figure, as a player, an age group internaitonalist, a development officer and a club coach, is undertaking a gruelling 24-hour walk, to raise funds for SAMH – The Scottish Association for Mental Health.

This is a cause dear to Gavin's heart. He has himself been open about his struggles with depression and his fund-rasing effort will take him around the dear green place, calling-in at several of the well-known rugby clubs along the way.

Gavin has kindly sent me his proposed schedule, and, if you can get out to cheer hm on, please do so, but, even if you cannot – please do your bit by contributing to his Just Giving page:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gavin-blackburn-24hr-walk

Gavin's itinerary:

• 10am, Saturday, 31 October - Whitecraigs rugby club to GHA Rugby Club arrive Braidholm, 11.30am

• 11.30am - GHA Rugby Club to HJRFC arrive Hughenden, 1.40pm (Break for 30mins)

• 2.10pm - HJRFC to Kelvinside Academy grounds arrive Balgray, 2.20pm

• 2.20pm - Balgray to Glasgow Accies rugby club arrive New Anniesland, 2.40pm

• 2.40pm - Glasgow Accies rugby club to GHK rugby club arrive Old Anniesland, 2.50pm

• 2.50pm - GHK rugby club to West of Scotland rugby club arrive Burnbrae, 4.20pm (Break for 25mins)

• 4.45pm - West of Scotland rugby club to Allan Glens rugby club arrive The Bearyards, 6.45pm (Break for 25mins)

• 7.10pm - Allan Glens Rugby club to Cambuslang Rugby club arrive Coats Park, 10pm (Break for 45mins)

• 10.45pm- Cambuslang Rugby Club to GHA Rugby Club arrive Braidholm, 12.30 am Sunday, 1 November, (Break for 45mins)

• 1.15am - 10am Walking around grounds of GHA Rugby club.

That's a tough schedule, so good luck to Gavin. I would venture to suggest, if he gets fed-up walking round Braidholm in the wee sma' hours of Sunday morning – he could always walk down to Auldhouse, Hutchie's old ground, and back, to break the monotony and to add another rugby ground to the tally. (Just a wee suggestion).

Let's hope plenty of rugby men can get out and cheer him on, this is a terrific cause and one we should all support.

I SEE the date for part two of the SRU's 2020 Annual General meeting has been set.

As with part one, this one will be done online, kicking off at 6pm, on Thursday, 26 November. In the notice of meeting,s ent out this week, we were assured the relevant agenda and reports would be circulated prior to the meeting.

These will include the long-awaited accounts, so, hopefully, we will have some meat to get our teeth into.

FINALLY – as usual in Scottish Rugby, I have seen a fair bit of moaning about the composition of President Ian Barr's Governance Review Group.

'Tis ever thus in fair Scotia, where apparently, we all kent his faither, regardless of which of the group is being discussed.

How about, just this once, we shut up and let them get on with things. Or, if anyone really feels, they have something worthwhile to contribute, why not write to Ian Barr at BT Murrayfield, asking him to place your thoughts and opinions before the group.

Doing that makes far-more sense than moaning on this or other social media platforms.

When Are We Really Going To Tackle This Crucial Issue?

THE FOLLOWING few paragraphs were posted by Gavin Blackburn on the WTF Is It With Scottish Rugby page on Facebook. Gavin's credentials as a former age group internaitonalist and as a development officer and club coach give him every right to have his say – I think he speaks a lot of sense in this post and commend it to the house.

 

 

Gavin Blackburn - makes some excellent points

"Long term player development."

Now this is a term the union have thrown about for many years and to be honest they fail the young aspiring players we have, season-on-season, year-on-year.

I worked as a development officer for five seasons and the key areas of focus changed season on season. Then there was this: 'we want to play the fastest rugby in the world' statement; now that has not been heard for a while.

The people in charge of player development have no clue how to develop and retain players. Look at those that they have missed, those they have been discarded, who then get six-week loan deals for Saracens from clubs in the English Championship.

For me it starts with identification of players. We have people currently in post where quite frankly they shouldn't be and we are relying on them to be able to ID players of calibre.

We are the only home union who cut identified players and discard them. Ireland and Wales within their pro clubs' academies keep large squads of players, to give these players an opportunity over the course of the season. In Scotland, the attitude seems to be: 'nah you've not played well in a trial where 70 kids all get 10mins each, so you're shite, see you later.'

The developing of players is where it gets interesting and in this area I take one issue to task and it's the: 'You need to be playing a higher level to be seen' approach. I've heard that statement numerous times; now when making that statement no background has been done:

• Is he a front rower who has just recently started playing and needs regular game time?

• Is he a small stand off who just needs to get used adult rugby?

These coaches are trusted to nurture, coach and grow these players but that isn't done.

I don't know how many players I've spoke to who have been told you need to move on with no other technical, tactical or physical work ons. The system is fucked and needs ripped up and started again..

What would I do? I would go back to the old pathway system, districts within districts, games, a number of games are played kids are selected by both sets of coaches and put forward to regional selection.

After they have made it to regional level we then play a four-district championship where these kids are allowed to play in a championship against the best players in country.

THEN we have national trials not this pish where these age grade coaches saunter in and pick players many of who they already had on their radar.”

I find it very difficult to pick holes in Gavin's argument, far less offer viable alternatives to what he suggests. Our system of player development is seriously-flawed and needs major reconstructive surgery. This might not be withn the remit of Gavin MacColl's Governance Committee's terms of reference, but, I believe it should be.

Compared to the other Home Nations, numbers-wise and in other ways – we are Avis to their Herts. Therefore – We have to try harder.

This morning I had a lengthy telephone conversation with one of the elder statesmen of club rugby. A fomer prop forward who did the hard yards back in the day when playing rugby at the highest club level had to be weighed against the demands of the day job.

He is still involved, as a back-room boy with one of our leading Premiership clubs, and he cares greatly about the direction of travel of Scottish rugby.

His point was, today, at the “performance level” of young player development – the Under-20 team and the Academy guys, they simply are not being permitted to play as much as they should.

These players have lengthy blocks when they are not permitted to play, but have to spend their time in the gym, pumping iron. If they are with a Super6 club, they cannot, if not required for the match-day 23, drop down to that franchise's Club XV, but have to go off to be considered for selection by a Premiership club. (This rule is often, I should addf, raised by S6 club officials as being crazy).

 

He also feels, the case for the Premiership having more involvement in player development is, it has a wider geographic spread than S6, so the players will not need to move away from home to be able to play at a high or higher level.

The Premiership was considered: “Not fit for purpose” by the SRU – but more than half of the current international squad has had, at some point in their career, experience of Premiership rugby:

• Finn Russell, Ali Price (and D'arcy Rae) (Ayr)

• Damien Hoyland, Simon Berghan (Boroughmuir)

• Jonny Gray (Currie)

• Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh Academicals)

• George Horne, Duncan Weir, Richie Gray, Scott Cummings, Matt Fagerson, Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Hawks)

• Stuart Hogg, Darcy Graham, Rory Sutherland (Hawick)

• Fraser Brown (Heriot's)

• Jamie Bhatti (Melrose)

• Nick Grigg, Ratu Tagive, Sam Johnson, Grant Gilchrist (Stirling County)

• Stuart McInally (Watsonians)

There, the home Scots boys were exposed to a good standard of rugby, above what they had previously encountered – while the guys who came from the Scots-qualified programme got a taste of how we play the game up here. OK, if, as I understand it, S6 is designed to provide that level of challenge (or a higher one), Covid-19 has upset the plans, and, in any case, I would argue that six clubs being involved is a case of too-few.

The late, great Sir Bobby Robson penned a football book: 'Time On The Grass.' Teh former England manager's core belief was, nothing beat playing the game: i.e. time on the grass. OK, givent he physical demands of modern rugby, there is a place for strength and conditioning work in the gym, but, at the end of the day, it's time on the grass which is more important.

So, why does BT Murrayfield thinking appear to preclude our young talent from enjoying this facet of the game?

We really need to be working a lot more smartly when it comes to player development. That new smartness needs to start now, we have already dragged out heels for too long.

Scottish Rugby Dancing explained: Two Steps Forward, A Wee Stumble, A Nimble Side Step, Another Stumble - Repeat

THERE IS maybe an excellent reason why Scotland is not home to the world's most-exciting roller coaster. Any thrill produced by riding that machine would be insignificant in comparison to the ups and downs, the exhilarating highs, the gut-wrenching lows, of following Scottish sport. And if Rugby Union Football is your game of choice, well, the dips and rises simply get more-extreme.

Take the weekend just passed. It began at an eerily-empty BT Murrayfield, and an eight tries to one win over Georgia. Given our propensity for slipping on banana skins, this was a better result than we maybe expected. Sure, we were confident we could win, but, maybe not that well.

However, in the time-honoured tradition of Scottish rugby, that positive forward step was followed by a wee bit of a stumble, as Glasgow lost to Ospreys, in Swansea. OK, both sides were shorn of their top talent by the international weekend, but, even in Wales, we now expect Warriors to be too-good for that particular Welsh region.

Things perked-up slightly when, aided by an organisational blunder which left their opponents to play out the final quarter of the game a player short, Scotland's Women, drew with the higher-ranked France,

at Scotstoun.

It was a pity the girls could not have snatched victory, but, interim coach Bryan Easson will surely be happy with the manner in which the girls stuck to their task and got some kind of reward. It is now a case of turning such draws into victories. Let's hope they can keep going forward, next time out, against Wales.

However, the feel-good factor of Sunday afternoon had evaporated by supper time as Edinburgh lost narrowly at home to Connacht. At least, they managed to win the second-half. However, this was Edinburgh's sixth straight defeat and, sadly, just as winning is a great habit to get into, serial losing is one which requires urgent attention.

But, perhaps the most-enjoyable game of the weekend, from a Scottish point of view, was watching the considerable contributions of Messrs Hogg, Skinner, Gray and Hidalgo-Clyne to Exeter's Gallagher Premiership win at Twickenham.

Given a rare day off from starting duties, it was cheering to see Jonny Gray come off the bench and make that crucial line-out steal at the death. It also says much about the standing of Hoggy, that Wasps' game plan was entirely aimed at keeping the ball as far away from him as possible, and limiting the chances he had to unleash havoc with his broken field running.

LOOKING at the bigger picture of Scottish Rugby, and with a nod to what happened at the week-end, I wonder if perhaps we have got our management model somewhat muddled.

OK, caveats:

• These are not “normal” times

• We do not know when, if ever, we will get back to “normal”

• Or if the new “normal” will be the same as the old “normal”

Let's assume:

• We relatively-quickly get a vaccine against Covid-19

• The pandemic, if not entirely eliminated, becomes controllable

• We return to being able to fill stadia to watch our sport

What happens then?

Let's assume again – at least in the case of the SRU, we carry-on as before:

• The international team remains our major income generator and the show case for Scottish rugby talent

• The two full-time professional sides, playing in the PRO14 are the teams from which the national squad is mainly drawn

• The Super6 is the tier of rugby in which the main player development is done

• The club game should be community-based, strictly amateur and intended to provide something best expressed by a wee change to the name of yon Hawick team: a Pleasant Saturday (rather than Sunday) Afternoon.

If we take these as the broad outlines of how we run the game, we can put in place the right management plan.

• We settle on a way we want to play the game

• We put in place the best SCOTTISH coaches to get us playing that way

• We insist all our SRU-funded teams play within that pattern

• We pro-actively encourage and nurture Scottish talent (both playing and coaching)

As things stand, Scotland cannot be relegated from the Six Nations. The two pro teams cannot be relegated from the PRO14. There is no relegation from the Super 6. Therefore, while winning is always to be encouraged, in the case of league games during international windows, the club coaches can safely take selection risks.

We really need to be, I feel, a wee bit less concerned with short term points gains and more with longer-term player development gains during the international windows.

Of course, at the end of the day, a lot of such planning comes down to us being better at talent-spotting in young players, and an awful lot better in how we nurture and develop that talent once we have spotted it. For me, that has been the SRU's big weakness throughout the “professional” era.

We don't have as-many players to work with, so, we need to be a lot smarter in how we handle that talent.

It's well past time we got things right, we've been getting things wrong for most of the past 25 years.

We Won - But I Suppose Some Will Still Moan

MAYBE Scotland is growing up at last. I say this after watching last night's win over Georgia, at BT Murrayfield. OK, it was “only” Georgia, but, my memory is scarred by too-many disappointing Scottish performances, at both football and rugby, against supposedly inferior teams.

I like to as it were convert rugby results to football idiom – which made last night's game an 8-1 win for us, how often does our football team ram home eight goals against a lesser team?

Of course, it was all a bit unreal, inside an empty Murrayfield. Just as well perhaps, the record played all the way through Flower of Scotland, I don't think it would have been very uplifting if the players had been left to perform the normal second verse a cappella. And, speaking of uninspiring anthems, no disrespect to our visitors, but, I thought the Georgian anthem was even-less rousing than that awful dirge that England has purloined.

I noticed they were playing celebration music after each try – I would like to make a case for adopting Shang A Lang as our celebration song after we score – that would get a packed Murrayfield rocking. And speaking of pop music, kudos to Jill Douglas for that quote from the Waterboys' classic 'Whole of the Moon' in the build-up.

Considering how long it has been since the squad was together, there was much to enjoy about this emphatic win. OK, we butchered a couple of kick-off receptions, but, old habits die hard, and there was understandably a bit of ring-rustiness. Generally, however, we did the basics well.

We have discovered how to maul, our line-out was a bit more secure, we scrummed well, and, we can and will get better. We certainly did, when Finn Russell came on.

His arrival demonstrated the difference between a very good professional player and world-class talent. Adam Hastings is a good player, but, once he came on, Finn demonstrated that he is in a different and higher class. Some of his passes were the stuff of genius. We are a lot better team with him than without him.

Duhan Van Der Merwe was well-shackled, but, when he burst onto that exquisite Russell disguised pass, he was not going to be stopped. Others to impress were Darcy Graham, with him, Hoggy and Finn, we have three absolute game-breakers in our back line.

Oli Kebble impressed when he came on, we now have two quality loose-heads, with him and Rory Sutherland, Ben Toolis and Scott Cummings – who I thought ran “Mish” close for Man of the Match – demonstrated we have depth at lock, while the back row did what they were expected to do.

The centres did well, but, with everyone fit and available, we are unlikely to see them in-tandem as starters again, and, all things considered, I think Gregor Townsend will be pleased with the performance, but, looking for more against Wales next time out.

ONE THING to emerge from BTM this week which did not please me, was the news that Edinburgh had signed South African lock Andries Ferreira on a short-term deal.

When Glasgow signed TJ Ionae recently, I questioned the signing with one of the tiny minority of SRU insiders who will speak to me. He told me: “We get these guys on cheap deals.” OK, value for money is one thing, but, log onto the SRU website; click on the Menu section, then go to the part entitled: “About Scottish Rugby.”

The heading to that section of the website begins: “Scottish Rugby is the governing body for rugby union in Scotland. We work hard to grow the game and inspire Scotland through rugby.”

• Does filling short-falls in the pro teams' squads by signing cheap players who are non-Scots-qualified grow the game and inspire Scotland through rugby?

I don't think it is. What message does signing the likes of Ferreira, who is at best a third-rate Saffer, send to the young Scottish players who were not considered?

I am convinced there are about half a dozen locks playing in the FOSROC Super6 competition who could do the job for Edinburgh they expect Ferreira to perform.

Rob McAlpine, Sam Thomson, Lewis Wynne, Hamilton Burr and Alex Toolis were all locks who were allowed to depart the Scottish rugby system – all are younger than Ferreira. Nick Campbell – now converted to boxing, is another who was allowed to depart. He is just months older than the new South African, as is Murray Douglas – yet another who, somehow, never convinced Murrayfield of his qualities. Maybe it's a positional thing, but, over the professional era, we have not got a good record in developing lock forwards – why?

We ought to be pro-active in developing and encouraging young Scottish locks in particular, and Scottish talent in general. Until there is a systemic change within Murrayfield and we start doing this – we will struggle.

By all means, if they are available, want to come and the price is right – I have no objection to the two pro sides recruiting X-factor players who are not Scottish-qualified.

I can live with bringing-in “project players,” provided they are Under-23 and play a position where we are short of home-grown players. BUT, “to grow the game and inspire Scotland through rugby” - we have to put home-grown talent first and nurture that talent properly.

Come-on SRU, get it right.

El Presidente Has Spoken - Things Are Happening

THE SHIT is about to hit the fan along BT Murrayfield's corridors of power. Because, President Ian Barr has revealed the identities of the members of his Standing Comittee on Governance, and there is at least one unexpected name on the list.

 

 

 Ian Barr - has named his governance review team

The group members are: President Barr, Independent Board Member Julia Bracewell, Gavin MacCall QC – who will be the independent Chairman of the committee, Council members Gordon Thomson, Hazel Swankie, Ken Knott, Bobby Frazer, Martin Offord, and, the surprising name – past President Rob Flockhart.

That Flockhart, who it has to be said, left office under something of a cloud, should be invited onto the group, demonstrates Ian Barr's determination to have all sections of the club game involved.

My understanding is that Flockhart, who stood for the vice-presidency then got the top job, on a platform of “standing-up for the clubs,” saw his worthy ambitions distorted somewhat by the machinations of at least one high-ranking member of The Junta. His return to active service from rugby's equivalent of God's Waiting Room – the ranks of the ex-presidents, offers Rob a chance to help put things right.

The group brings significant intellectual power to their task, with two advocates, in Messrs MacColl and Frazer and further lawyers in Flockhart and Julia Bracewell. Martin Offord brings years of expertise gained in the City of London's financial world and while there may be complaints from the South and West Regions about a lack of representation, there can be little doubt, the chosen team covers most of the bases within the game.

We can only surmise at what they might find and recommend, but, we hear they may look at the make-up of the main SRU Board. There is a belief in the Council that Chairman of the main board, the job currently being done by John Jeffrey, must be a truly-independent person.

There is also support for a cut in the number of paid executives currently on the main board. At present, CEO Martin Dodson, COO Dominic McKay, SRU Counsel Robert Howat and Finance Director Andrew Healy are on the main board. There is a feeling in the Council that at least two of that number might be two too many. There is also a growing clamour for either Performance Director Jim Mallinder or HR Director Shona Bell to replace one of the other executives on the board.

Further to this, some within, and even more without the Murrayfield big top, support the formation of a Professional Game Board, similar to that in existence in Wales. If the committee recommends setting-up such a board, likely members will be: Mallinder, National Coach Gregor Townsend, Edinburgh and Glasgow CEOs Douglas Struth and Nathan Bomphrys, and Stephen Gemmell and Sean Lineen. There are also suggestions at least one representative of the FOSROC Super6 franchises could be on this board, if it happens.

There is also, I understand, some support for removing the co-opted members of the Council, Ian Rankin, Gavin Hastings and John Jeffrey from that body. The reasoning behind this suggestion is – as originally envisaged by Sheriff Bill Dunlop, the Council was supposed to be the representative body for the Union's main stakeholders, the clubs. Rankin sits as the representative of Rugby Europe, Big Gav represents The British and Irish Lions and JJ represents The PRO14; you will not find any of these three organisations on the list of SRU clubs. The committee seems certain to spend time discussing this issue.

Messrs Rankin, Hastings and Jeffrey are SRU appointments, as such, the belief is, they have no place on an elected body such as the Council.

Obviously, we do not yet know under what time scale Ian Barr's group will operate, or exactly what the terms of reference will be, other than the fact – the President wants to be able to place their findings before the 2021 AGM. We have also heard talk of new criteria being introduced for potential Council members, with candidates for office being required to show certain skill sets and attributes before being allowed to stand.

I like what we are hearing about the group and its plans. I know Mr Barr does not want to waste any time in getting to grips with the problems facing Scottish Rugby. I also know, it will not simply be a review, new ideas and initiatives will emerge from the group's work. Buckle-up people, this could be quite a ride.

Ian Barr, announcing the setting-up of the committee, said: “As Clubs are aware, since assuming the role of President I have been committed to setting up a new group to review all aspects of Scottish Rugby’s governance,” added Barr. “The Scottish Rugby Council has now approved the membership and terms of reference of the Council’s new Standing Committee on Governance.

“The Committee will be tasked with making recommendations on a structure which is fit for purpose in the modern era and setting out clearly defined roles and responsibilities for all involved in the running of our game, in line with the Nolan principles of good governance.”

[I am indebted to my friend David Barnes of The Offside Line, for printing the following explanation of The Nolan Principles and saving me having to look them up and cut and paste]:

The Nolan Principles – which were set out by Lord Nolan in his 1995 as the ‘The Seven Principles of Public Life’ – consist of:

• Selflessness

• Integrity

• Objectivity

• Accountability

• Openness

• Honesty

• Leadership

“Governance can sound a bit abstract,” Barr continued. “But the governance of Scottish Rugby impacts on anyone and everyone involved in the game in Scotland so we must ensure there is a structure in place which allows all aspects of our organisation to operate effectively.

“Governance has been a contentious issue in the past, but we now have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to implement a governance model that will take Scottish rugby forward for the foreseeable future.

“What I committed to before I took up the position of President, was a fresh look at our governance, bearing in mind the challenges we face at all levels of the game, whether on the international stage or getting players out on the field for their local club.”

What's Aye Been Is Set To Change - As Hawick Looks Ahead

VISITORS to Hawick may soon have to ignore the instruction to “please turn your watches back to 1514,” (joke Teris, just a joke) on arriving in the toon. Because what his aye been will not be for much longer, following this week's announcement of ambitious plans by The Greens.

The ambition of Scotland's most-successful club, under their “Green Sky” initiative has received a massive boost – a £35,000 feasibility study.

 

 

Darcy Graham - Hawick Cap number 60

The long-term plan is to keep Hawick in the forefront of the club game, and to see at least a further 65 Scotland caps produced, to join the 60 male Teris – from M Elliot, their first cap, against Wales in 1895 – to the latest, Darcy Graham, and the five "bright-eyed daughters" of the town, who have gone on to swap the famous green jersey for the navy blue of Scotland.

The plans also include the replacement of the main stand at Mansfield Park, built in 1956, with a new building, better-equipped to be a community hub and to take the club forward.

Hawick also hopes to incorporate the Bill McLaren Foundation's museum within the new stand.

Funding for the study has come from one of Scotland’s biggest wind farm operators, Community Windpower, which is behind the Faw Side Community Wind Farm located between Langholm and Hawick.

Neil Hamilton, president of Hawick Rugby Football Club, said: “This club is at the heart of the community and we’re delighted this feasibility study, under the ‘Green Sky’ project, can take place to ensure we can support even more people and events within the area.

“The study will provide us with the platform to understand exactly what we need, how we can go about it, what it could look like and also how much it could cost.

“However, without the funding from Community Windpower this study would not have been able to take place and the club is very grateful for this invaluable support.

“A key part of the study is to guarantee we engage with everyone in the community to ensure the new stand will cater for a wide range of needs.

“This will include increasing our support for disabled, children’s and women’s rugby, while also expanding the audience through new versions of the game, such as Teri Touch Rugby which can include children and grandparents playing in the same team.”

The ‘Green Sky’ project is being managed by club members, and the results of the study are expected in March 2021.

It’s then hoped the club can move forward with a fundraising plan to build the new fit-for-purpose stand and facilities that will be used by many people in the community.

“Among the facilities in the new stand will be space for the Bill McLaren Foundation’s museum, new changing facilities and space for community events including weddings, birthdays and wakes,” added Neil.

“This is a fantastic opportunity and one the community should grasp, as we want the ‘Green Sky’ project to be innovative in how we approach the new stand.”

Rod Wood, managing director at Community Windpower, said: “We’re delighted to be able to provide support to the world-famous Hawick Rugby Football Club as it looks to create exciting plans for the future.

“The club is at the centre of the community, just as our operational wind farms are, playing a vital role in encouraging sport, exercise and togetherness among a cross section of the community.

“We hope this is just the start of our support for the club and people of Hawick, and we’re looking forward to seeing the results of the study.”

TONIGHT we see the long-awaited return to action of the Scotland side, when they take-on Georgia in the opening Autumn International.

No fans present of course, but, the game will be live on ITV4 – Channel 24 on Freeview.

Scotland will need to hit the ground running, as coach Gregor Townsend has already made clear, and with Edinburgh's Duhan Van Der Merwe making his debut from the start and Oli Kebble certain to make his off the bench, there are reasons to be happy.

Of course, had their been a crowd inside HQ, the biggest roar tonight would surely have welcomed the return to the fold of Finn Russell, who is expected to make his 50^th appearance off the bench at some point.

Tonight's match kicks-off a busy weekend of rugby, with both PRO14 teams also in action; the small matter of four Scots involved in England's Gallagher Premiership final tomorrow; Mike Adamson's first Tier One international, at Twickenham on Sunday and the Scotland Women also in Sunday action. We really are being spoiled.