Right - Breathe, Then Decide Where We Go Next

WHERE do we go from here in Scottish Rugby? I ask this pertinent question in the wake of Sunday's AGM. Mind you, we might not have a notion on our direction of travel before the Special General Meeting, due to convene in December, to consider the report on Gavin McColl QC's special committee on governance.

That meeting should be a corker. Consider this, the AGM kicked far into touch the notion of a return to an Inter-District competition as the top level, below the full time professional level of the game. You might hope, S6 having been assured of continuance, with plans to go to S8 then S10, that those backwoodsmen desperate for a return to the old system would quietly disperse. Nah! I think we will be hearing the sounds of banjoes for a wee while yet.

Strictly speaking – governance is about who gets the biggest shout, not about how the game is organised. As things stand, the Superteam franchises deal directly with Murrayfield and the full-time staff of the Performance Department. Wearing their very smart Ayrshire Bulls or Heriot's Rugby branded shirts, Glen Tippet and Neil Meikle liaise directly with Stephen Gemmell at Murrayfield. But, when they are wearing their Ayr RFC or Heriot's Club colours, then their point of contact with HQ is via Gerry Tosh, the National League 1 representative on the SRU Council.

Clearly there is a potential conflict of interest here; one of the reasons why I thought Heriot's submission to the McColl Committee was worthy of debate was, it tackles this conflict.

The Heriot's paper makes what I think is a good point – some clubs are (to use their definition) “Pathway” clubs – a stepping stone on the road to a professional career and potential international recognition – but, the majority are “Community” clubs, dedicated to spreading the Rugby Gospel and getting people playing.

As I see it, at the moment we have “Community” clubs, trying to be “Pathway” ones and a fewer number of “Pathway” clubs who would maybe be better-off in the “Community” game.

My own gut feeling is, while a degree of self-interest among some clubs will be an obstacle, once we get to TCD's goal of having ten Superteams, the whole situation will calm down.

I reckon ten Superteams – or if you like “Pathway” clubs, might suffice. Three in Edinburgh might be pushing it a bit, but, I doubt we need, or could provide the players for, more than ten clubs/teams. These clubs, would have to meet strict criteria as to grounds and facilities and, like the full-time professional teams above them, their job would be to sell Scottish Rugby as a spectator sport worth watching.

But, what happens to the remaining clubs? Their primary job would be to sell rugby as a game worth playing, to borrow a phrase from Hawick: a means of passing: “a Pleasant Saturday Afternoon.”

For community rugby to prosper and expand – we will maybe have to look at revised laws and so forth. But, the initial problem might well be persuading the community clubs that they should forget playing in a nationwide league, more-localised leagues could well be the future.

Assuming S10 becomes the bottom level of the Performance side of rugby, the guys who are paid to play - with the new Inter-Regional Championship and perhaps the Club XV being the ambition of the amateur players; then I don't see the need for a national league for the unpaid players.

So, also given that the Regional teams are where they aim to be – it makes sense to have Regional Leagues. Within these we could have promotion and relegation, and, how about a National Cup competition for the top Regional sides? I believe that could boost interest in playing the game.

We need, I feel, to also look at the seasonal calendar. With most of the clubs playing within their own Region, we should be encouraging local cups again. We could also look at a more-organised Sevens or Tens programme, at the start or end of the season, to keep the players involved.

Another question I feel we should be addressing sooner or later is:

• Are two full-time professional clubs sufficient for Scottish Rugby, or should we be looking at a third, or maybe even a third and fourth clubs?

The SRU are selling S6/8/10 in a large part, as a means of bridging the gap between the club and professional game. At the time of writing, 11 members of the Edinburgh and Glasgow squads, plus Kyle Rowe, at London Irish, have got to their professional contracts via a spell in S6, while one or two other full-timers have been seen in action in that tier of rugby.

Extrapolate that progression rate forward and, by the time we get to S8 or certainly S10, there should be very-little need for our two clubs to recruit from outside Scotland, other than to continue to mine the productive seam of the Caledonian Diaspora – we should never close the door to Scotland-qualified players who have learned the game in Australia, New Zealand or South Africa. I can also see the day when S10 is actually preparing players for eventual big money moves to England and France.

When that day arrives, and we all hope we provide enough talent that it will, it would surely be better for the Scottish game to have more than two Scottish destinations for the promoted talent. Something here for the SRU to think about.

I honestly feel, the next five to ten years will be very-exciting indeed for Scottish Rugby.

FINALLY, this post going up on the last day of September, I did a quick check-up on how many games were played, or not played during the month. OK, Covid continued to play its part, but, as far as I could work-out, one-fifth of the league games scheduled to be played during the month didn't happen – which is not a good look for the start of a enw season.

In the national leagues, only 87% - 80 of 92 games, were played. In Caledonia Region, only 69 of 96 happened – 72%. In the East Region, 42 of 68 were played, that's 81.5% and in the West, 49 of 64 scheduled games kicked off, that's 76.5%. The situation was even worse in the reserve leagues, where I reckon just under half of the scheduled games – 56 of 113 were played.

I know one or two clubs managed to salvage some game time by playing friendlies, but, that level of cancellations in the first month of the season is not a good look for the health of the club game.

Super6 Is Here To Stay - Now Let's Make It Better

THIS HAS been a great weekend for those of us who are believers in the FOSROC Super6. Three superb games, tries galore and what a cracking third game that was, between Stirling County and Watsonians. The deterioration in conditions in the second half made it very-hard for the players, but, they came up with a thrilling finish, with County winning by the skin of their teeth.

However, the big news was off the park, when the SRU AGM over-whelmingly dismissed the motion calling for S6 to be replaced by an Inter-District competition. By a margin of 72-46 the meeting rejected the motion calling for the scrapping of S6 and instead passed the SRU Board and Council-backed amendment, which will, subject to a consultation process and with the agreement of the clubs, see the setting-up of an Inter-District competition, at a level below S6.

I think this is common sense. By introducing such a competition, the SRU will make is easier for the Union's Performance Department to monitor those club players who might be capable of stepping-up to S6 alongside the Academy graduates. In the short term, they will be competing for spots alongside overseas players and recruits from England, but, if the ID competition is as-successful as we hope it will be, in time, there may well be enough home-grown talent to fill any openings at S6 or higher.

An ID tournament would also be handy when it comes to selecting the Club XV squad.

OK, my old mate TCD was maybe, not for the first time, over-exaggerating, with the praise he heaped on S6 (Yes, it's good, but, it could be better), but, I admire his determination to expand S6 to S8 and then S10. I am, however, interested in the timescale for this.

By all accounts, the S8 expansion will involve London Scottish and the desired Glasgow-based team. That's been fairly-well expected as SRU thinking – the questions then become:

• What is the timescale for expansion to Super 8?

• How long will S8 get to bed-in, before we go to S10?

• Where will teams nine and ten be based?

As my pal Colin Renton asked as his talking point in his TOL report on the County v Watsonians match: “The tournament has been a success, but surely it could have been even more competitive and spectator-friendly if more than six teams were involved.”

Makes sense, but, given the clubs had to go outwith Scotland to recruit players of the desired standard, for just six clubs, we have to be careful about the expansion timescale less we dilute the quality of what is already a good product.

But, looking some way down the road, to S10; perhaps it's time for the likes of Hazel Swankie, Bob Richmond and Gerry Tosh to start twisting arms – if not yet knocking heads together. A Super franchise in the North and Midlands is a MUST. Franchises nine and ten are at least, I feel, eight to ten years away, but, it's never too early to start planning and since we all should recognise, by making these franchises club-based, rather than District-based, it saves the Union a considerable amount of money.

However, clubs thinking of trying for one should be under no illusions – they have to do their sums and due diligence, or they will not be considered.

Another intriguing thought, now S10 has been signposted. Could the Border clubs other than Melrose put their differences aside long enough to get a second South franchise, perhaps a team playing in the iconic red and white hoops, be set-up? Or will self-interest defeat this notion, one which one or two weel-kent Borders men have suggested would work?

Still looking years ahead – if and when we get to S10, I think we will be looking at a reduction in the number of national leagues, maybe to one 12-club league below S10. Below that, re-organised regional leagues would seem to me, to make sense.

The Haddington/Currie motion, calling for a review of the in-house legal and secretarial departments at Murrayfield was withdrawn, pending the Special General Meeting, due to be convened in December, which will consider the wider case of SRU governance. However, the proposing clubs can still, if unhappy with what comes up at that meeting, have another go.

However, the body of the kirk did have one victory, when the Glasgow Hawks' motion demanding clarification on how the £20 million Government funding to alleviate the effects of Covid is distributed was passed by a large majority.

THERE was an interesting wee development on Saturday, when Edinburgh Academical beat Hawick, to take possession of The Bill McLaren Shield. Like a few other people, I had forgotten that the Greens won the Shield back in season 2019-20, and held it throughout the Covid shut down.

I actually thought they had won it when they beat Currie in the opening Premiership game of the season. However, Saturday's game at Raeburn Place was their fifth defence, and therefore their first on the road, since having their name engraved on the magnificent Shield.

So, now Accies are the holders, well done to them.

IN Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium, in the early hours of Monday morning, Great Britain lost 12-24 to South Africa in the final of the latest round of the World Rugby/HSBC Sevens Series.

There was a distinct tartan tinge to the GB team, captained by Robbie Fergusson and including fellow Scots Max McFarland, who scored eight tries in the tournament, Ross McCann, Jamie Farndale and Paddy Kelly. In the final, skipper Fergusson's early try had put GB in front, but their was no stopping the Blitzboks, who cruised to victory and to the 2021 series title.

To reach the final was a good boost to GB, who had surprisingly lost to Germany in the opening pool stages and had finished third in the previous tournament, in Vancouver.

Meanwhile, in the accompanying Women's Fast Four tournament, the GB women, coached by Scott Forrest, followed-up their win in Vancouver by taking the title, beating USA 22-5 in the final.

Great Britain's final 2021 Sevens tournament will be the Dubai event, in December, after which, the Scottish players will revert to playing for Scotland and begin their preparations for the Commonwealth Games, in Birmingham, to be played in Wasps' Coventry Building Society Stadium, starting on 29 July, 2022. The bad news is, Australia, Fiji and New Zealand, none of whom were in Canada, will be back for Birmingham.

Here's a left field notion. Could our Commonwealth Games squad not be entered, perhaps as The Co-optimists, in the Kings of the Sevens Spring series? It would give them some time together as a squad, and maybe boost the attendances.

FINALLY, given that TCD and The Junta work so hard to keep me away from BT Murrayfield, I was disgusted at the lax security which allowed “Victor” from Marr Rugby Club to be photographed beside the Calcutta Cup, and to post the picture on Facebook, during the AGM on Sunday.

Standards SRU, standards.

A shocking example of lax security inside BT Murrayfield

A Couple Of Good Days For Scottish Rugby

WELL, that was a cracker. I refer of course to last night's FOSROC Super6 clash between Southern Knights and Heriot's, at The Greenyards. Nine tries, some of them right out of the top drawer; 71 points in all; four changes of lead; try bonuses for both teams – surely even the “No Super6 at any price” segment of the Scottish Rugby family can see, with matches like this, it's a quality product.

Wearing my Ayrshire Bulls beanie hat, I thought the Nails were going to do the team a big favour and put a spoke in the freely-rolling Knights' wheels, but, in a glorious late surge they were undone and the way replacement flanker Billy Wara galloped clear to gild the winning lily, well, that was a climax of Hollywood proportions.

A wee piece of humble pie here. When it was revealed that Edinburgh had signed Freddie Owsley, I was not happy, but, if he can score tries like the one he got last night in the URC, they've got one huge prospect on their hands. That guy could be the next big left winger off the taxi rank to follow Tim Visser and Duhan van der Merwe. But, why cannot we produce players like that here in Scotland?

But, I must add, they are still producing quality players in Hawick. I was very-impressed by the contribution of Teris Fraser Renwick, Dalton Redpath and Andrew Mitchell to the Knights' victory. And well done to my old mate Alan Lorimer, for giving his MoM nomination to Heriot's Calum Marshall. I thought the big Soutar had a great game.

On Saturday afternoon, Ayrshire Bulls travelled to Meggetland to beat Boroughmuir Bears and set-up what already looks like being a cracking encounter, under the Millbrae lights, on Friday night – when they entertain the Knights in a top of the table battle. This could be an epic.

Also on Friday night, Glasgow Warriors opened their URC season with a narrow loss to Ulster, at the Kingspan Stadium. Now, given jolly old Ravenhill is one of the more-difficult venues to visit in the game, to emerge with a try bonus and a losing one is a good return.

Reading David Barnes' excellent report on The Offside Line, I think there is reason for optimism for the Warriors' season, once they get going properly.

Saturday night's action saw Edinburgh begin their campaign with a home meeting with Scarlets at The DAM Health Stadium – as I am now contractually-obliged to call Legoland. Mike Blair's boys got the real action at their new home off to a terrific winning start, in front of an encouraging 5000-plus crowd..

I WAS forced to watch the Gallagher Premiership on BT Sport on Saturday afternoon. The original plan was Millbrae, for Ayr v Biggar in National League 1. That game was off, apparently the visitors have “front row issues.” Now, if a NL1 team struggling for props, three games into the league season isn't a fucking loud Klaxon call for the game – what is?

Mind you, can somebody please explain to me, how come Biggar could call-off their First XV fixture, due to a shortage of props, but, still play their Second XV fixture? If they could put a front row out in the second team, why not the first?

I enjoyed last week's wee meander down memory lane to watch Cumnock, but, they were at Clydebank today, so, television it was.

I certainly enjoyed the Wasps v Bristol game. Lots of good running rugby, some smashing tries, and a wee bonus in seeing Robin 'Bomber' Hislop not looking out of place at loose-head for Wasps. I had to laugh at the BT pundits mentioning the absences on the Bristol side. I reckon 'Bomber' would have coped well with the absent Kyle Sinckler. After all, 'Bomber' is a much better scrummager.

Even better was the Scotland v Ireland women's international, on BBC Alba. Family duties meant, I had to miss the grand finale, with Scotland scoring a last-minute winning try to qualify for the final repechage and keep alive their World Cup hopes.

It was an uneven performance, some good things, a few cringe-enducing moments, but, the result was what mattered and the girls, to their immense credit, got that. I remain convinced, however, Women's Rugby would benefit from using a size four rather than a full-sized size five ball.

SOMETHING for the anti-Super6 gang to consider. British Columbia used to be the heartland of Canadian Rugby. I was one of the few Scots there the day, in 1985, when they beat A Scotland XV in Stanley Park, Vancouver.

Since then, rugby in Ontario and the Prairie provinces has overtaken the game in BC, but, now, they are fighting back over there on the Pacific Coast, with a new competition which bears some resemblance to our Super6.

I NOTE, in an effort to spice-up the viewing experience at The DAM, Edinburgh Rugby has released a list of the “try tracks” which will be played whenever they score a try, each player having chosen the track he wants played.

All I can say is, I hope Grant Gilchrist - “Rockin All Over The World”, Stuart McInally - “Don't Stop Me Now”, Dan Gamble - “The Gambler” and Patrick Harrison - “Country Roads” score a good few tries. Some of the rest – sorry lads, taste bypasses.

Had I ever had the chance, by the way, my try track would have been that Mac Davis classic - “Lord It's Hard To Be Humble.”

I AM delighted to see Glasgow Hawks topping the Tennent's Premiership table tonight. They've had more downs than ups in recent years, but, there is a core of steel in that club and it's great to see their determination to keep going and believing in the Hawks ethos.

The AGM - Will They Attract A Quorum?

This week's big question is – will enough clubs turn-up to form a quorum for the 2021 Scottish Rugby Union Annual General meeting? The AGM is due to be held at BT Murrayfield, at 10.30am, on Sunday, 26 September. With the lifting of Covid restrictions, the plan is to hold it “in person,” but, that question still intrigues.

A lot of people have got out of the habit of going out during the long lockdown and restrictions put in place to try to alleviate the effects of Covid. At the top level, crowds are down slightly, and, given the meeting is set for the unsociable hour of 10.30am on a Sunday, there is a genuine fear that some of the further flung clubs will simply not bother to attend.

Part One of the meeting, last month, was held virtually, but, had to be shut down because only 65 clubs had logged-on, not enough to form a quorum and make the meeting legal. Could the same thing happen on Sunday? We await developments with interest.

If it does go ahead, I wonder what will become of the motion to re-introduce inter-District games. This has been a hobby horse of GHA's Director of Rugby, Rangi Jericevich for some time. Rangi, to my mind, sees this as an alternative to Super6. It is interesting to note, the SRU Council is backing an amendment, which would see such a level of competition, if re-introduced, be at a level below S6. I fancy this amendment has more chance of success than the GHA-led motion.

Another intriguing motion is the one calling for the shutting down of the SRU's in-house legal team. A wee bird tells me, “Howzat, The Consigliore,” arguably the least-popular member of The Junta, has been twisting arms for all he is worth as he defends his mini-empire. This one too, could be interesting.

This week's big news was that World Rugby is going to limit full-contact training to 15 minutes per week.

OK, “Elfin Safety” are going to be all over our game, sooner rather than later. With the case of the likes of former England hooker Steve Thompson and fellow unfortunates highlighting the dangers of head knocks, and that University of South Wales study on the long-term effects of collisions, it is going to be increasingly harder for Rugby Union to justify itself.

I still feel, at the grass roots level, we need to be looking at reducing the physicality of the modern game, and re-emphasising the game's core value – running with the ball. Cutting full-contact sessions down to 15 minutes per week might help prolong one or two professional careers, however, in what we now have to call: “the Community Game,” I feel we should be concentrating on teaching correct technique, and creating space.

These two steps will not entirely eliminate head trauma and the after-effects of full-speed collisions. After all, when you see experienced international players carried off after getting their head in the wrong place in the tackle, you have to accept, occasionally, technique will collapse. But, the fewer such collisions we see, the safer the game will become.

Coaches, particularly at youth level – MUST be encouraged to teach proper tackle technique. We now have rugby's version of boxing's “below the belt” hitting rule - the chest-high upper limit on the acceptable tackle height. Might there not be a case for further reducing this to outlawing above the waist tackles?

I appreciate, in circumstances such as a pick and go move from a ruck, the would-be tackler only has a split second in which to get into position to tackle, and this may not be sufficient time for he or she to get into the correct position to tackle below the waist – well, maybe if we move the offside lines back even one metre from the rearmost feet, it will give the necessary time and space.

Ok, we could have a problem around the goal line, where that particular crucial white-washed area will still be the vital line, but, I am sure the game's great coaching brains could come up with some sort of ploys to counteract this.

I admit, I was never a great tackler, but, we had a guy in our school team, a flanker, who compensated for other deficiencies in his game by being an absolute text-book round the thighs tackler. Few fly halves ever got past him, the pity was, he never played at club level. He was a natural, creatures who are few and far between. Maybe if the likes of me had had more technical trainig, we owuld have better tacklers across the board.

Teaching proper technique takes time, patience and commitment, from coaches and players, but, even if full-contact is limited to 15 minutes per week, it's a crusade the game ought to embark on, as a matter of urgency.

World Rugby has released an interesting video on this subject, which was enjoyable and informative. However, if I was to be critical, with the input from the likes of Joe Schmidt and Stuart Lancaster, the video is slanted towards the elite level of the game, making things safer further down the food chain will be the real challenge. I hope World Rugby and more-especially the individual unions, are up for this one.

Some Pish, Best Ignored, But Also A Response Which Demands Further Debate

MY RECENT blogs on the subject of , if not governance, certainly the structure of the game, have certainly got some people talking. Sadly, I am getting the usual level of gratuitous abuse from the usual suspects, but, truth is, it's a conversation we need to have.

Where I think we are is, somewhere football was in the dying days of Queen Victoria's reign. In the 25-years since the round ball game's “Big Bang,” following the first international, in 1872, football expanded rapidly. This brought money into the game, professionalism followed and we had the arguments between those clubs who merely wanted to play, and those who set out to make money from the game.

Money shouted and the bigger clubs organised themselves into the English Football League and the Scottish League. It should be remembered, Queen's Park – the founding club of Scottish football refused to participate in the new Scottish League and held off joining until the new 20^th century, by which time their near-inability to obtain meaningful fixtures forced them to join in.

Rugby Union meanwhile, expanded more slowly. They got their early money problems out of the way with the split which saw the birth of Rugby League. They kept real money out of the game until 1995 and did without official leagues until 1973, 100 years after the formation of the Scottish Rugby Union.

Rugby Union in Scotland has always been a highly-centralised organisation, with power centred on BT Murrayfield. OK, in the amateur days, there were District committees, but there have never been the same number of niche sub-unions as there are in Scottish football.

Go onto the official Scottish Football Association website and you will find a category: “Affiliated National Associations.” These are:

1. The Scottish Junior Football Association

2. The Scottish Youth Football Association

3. Scottish Women's Football

4. Scottish Amateur Football Association

5. Scottish Schools Football Association

6. Scottish Welfare Football Association

7. Scottish Para Football

There used to be a Scottish Juvenile Football Association and a Scottish Churches Football Association, but these organisations were absorbed into some of the seven affiliates. There is also the recently-formed Scottish Walking Football Assocation, but, while supported by the SFA, is has yet to be officially recognised.

Some of these are big organisations, the Scottish Amateur FA, for instance, has 50 different regional associations affiliated to it, organising 67 different league competitions.

The SRU in contrast, while allowing Women, the Schools and Referees to have a presence on the SRU Council is nothing like as democratic as the SFA, who even allow the Scottish Football Writers Association, and official Supporters Clubs to be represented on the SFA Congress, which meets quarterly. (Can someone go in and check that TCD hasn't fainted on reading this.)

I feel there may be food for thought there as we discuss Governance. However, the topic here is the response to the Heriot's paper and the suggestion there be two categories of clubs: “Pathway” and “Community.”

Quick to respond was “friend” of the blog, the lovely and talented “Millbrae Madge.” Madge posted the following:

“Heriots are bastards wi yon plan. Whit a whingeing auld decrepit tosspot ye are. Still, ye dinnae ken naethin'. Maybe ye shouldnae hiv gien offence tae sae mony ithers, ye stinkin' twa-faced turncoat that cannae haud a joab.”

“Madge” was so pleased with the wit and wisdom of that post, she/he posted it on the blog 15 times, 14 of them, however, didn't include the opening libel on those upright chaps from Goldenacre.

Another of the blog's most-fervent admirers – “Lottery Winner” – was quickly out of the traps with:

“Divisive, disconnecting, damaging and deplorable toadying stuff of self-interest from the small group of ignorant nitwits currently running the Nails show at Goldenacre. Truly, they don't come any lower than the toeNails.... Mr Meikle should be sectioned. And - so should the idiot brown-nosed blogger creep who actually wrote "well said that club". Yes, AA = you!”

For obvious reasons, neither of these carefully-composed and thought-out comments made it to the below the line comments section, but, redemption was at hand, via this, from GHA Director of Rugby Rangi Jericevich, on Facebook:

“It's a good question, with an obvious answer. There's a reason that a pyramid league structure that incorporates promotion and relegation and allows club to rise and fall on their own efforts is an optimal sporting structure particularly where participation in the sport is a primary focus.

Unless we want to continue on the trajectory of having rugby as a primarily spectator sport for adults. Clubs are driven by volunteers whose motivation is naturally underpinned by a desire to move their club forward. On field success is part reward for those efforts, whatever level your club is playing at.

We don't need to categorise clubs under some divisive scheme but rather recognise both the uniqueness of all clubs and also the common objectives and ambitions within all of us involved in the club game to see our clubs and thus rugby in this country, thrive.

That's no different for a club in the premiership as it is in West 3. It is the essence of the Scottish Rugby Union - or at least it should be.”

Rangi, as is his want, makes some good points, which deserve to be addressed, so, here goes.

Rangi wrote: There's a reason that a pyramid league structure that incorporates promotion and relegation and allows club to rise and fall on their own efforts is an optimal sporting structure particularly where participation in the sport is a primary focus.

What is that reason? And, is this: an optimal sporting structure? Let's take a Scottish Regional League club – let's call them Invertottie Ruckers. They have a good season, win their regional league and get into National League 3.

Now, in their Regional League, perhaps their longest away trip is a 180 mile round trip, but, their average away game is within an hour of their home ground. But, in the National League, they might have just a couple of games within that hour's travelling time, their other away games involve up to a 300 mile round trip.

This has a knock-on effect on club costs. Perhaps too, their main man cannot commit to lengthy away trips, so, he drops down to the second team. Maybe the feeling is: “We need to strengthen our squad,” and some new players are recruited, who will only commit if they get half-decent expenses – more added costs.

The first season, it's a big adventure, new clubs to visit. But, two or three season in, stuck in mid-table, perhaps the enthusiasm has gone, it's all a bit of a bind and, suddenly, the club is back where it started.

Better perhaps to have regionalised competitions, where there is no promotion and relegation, but, local bragging rights are up for grabs.

Every club should have its own Unique Selling Point, to be cherished.Look too at the continuing success of the Border League, the concept of its young men: “playin' fur the toon.” Why cannot we, some years in the future, see the same local enthusiasm on show in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Midlands or West of Scotland Leagues?

Rugby at the top end is a professional sport, wherein money talks. But, not every club can sustain even a semi-professional club. The SRU recognised that fact when they established Super6.

Yes, I know, and I cannot say this often enough – mistakes were made in setting it up, but, the concept of a “bridging” tier between the best amateur players and the professional ones – offering a pathway from playing for fun to playing for a wage - is a sound one, which needs supporting.

Rugby will never be “a primarily spectator sport” in Scotland. I reckon the only level of rugby in Scotland which is sellable in the mass TV/media market is the national side's games – every professional or semi-professional level below that will require some level of SRU subsidy.

They don't have a bottomless money pit, so, they have to cut their cloth to suit. Setting-up the S6 franchises, never forget, actually saves the SRU money, when compared to the potential costs of setting-up six District or Regional sides to do the same job.

This need for financial prudence will mean a limited number of professional and semi-professional clubs, providing a pathway to the top for our best talent, under-pinned by community clubs, playing in local competitions.

Like it or not, professional, even semi-professional sport has to have a sellable product. This means there has to be an effort to achieve a minimum standard at each level.

The clubs playing at each level have a duty to entertain. If they are asking spectators to pay to watch them, then they have a duty to provide a level of entertainment the public are willing pay for.

This means, eliminating the fear element, particularly the fear of failure – so, do away with relegation and invite the participating clubs to entertain. Hence, the need to separate the “Pathway” clubs form the “Community” ones.

How we get there, and how many “Pathway” teams we allow is the big argument.

Lesser arguments include – if we are to have a tier of perhaps all-Scotland rugby below Super Rugby:

• How many clubs do we have playing nationally?

• How do we organise them: divisions or in URC-style conferences?

• What about minimum standards? Does each team have to have a grandstand, floodlights, a certain level of pitch, a youth development programme, and so forth?

• Can the Super franchises have feeder teams at this level, or will their lesser teams be confined to regional rugby?

• Will the centralised SRU support for the “Community” clubs be ring-fenced, and at what level?

Let's see these points discussed and agreed-on, and we will surely be able to move the game forward.