Purrich And Auld Claes, But Still Filling

HAVING warmed-up with televised viewing of the opening FOSROC Super6 matches, it was back to the purrich and auld claes of the Tennent's Premiership on Saturday and defending Champions Marr v Musselburgh, at Fullarton Woods.

I can remember, as a callow youth, being invited along to the then brand-new Fullarton ground, to learn of Marr's plans and to plug their star-studded opening game, when a virtual British Lions XV, put together by Gordon Brown, faced a side of mainly Scottish club players, assembled by big brother Peter Brown.

An example of how the game has changed is the fact, David Paton, the Marr president back then, was only 32 when he presided over the opening. On Saturday, the same David Paton, now in his eighties, was a guest at the pre-game lunch, presided over by new Marr President, Tony “Motors” Peters, a mere stripling, aged 70, pictured below with his pride and joy.

Back then, rugby was a players' game, they ran the show, today we have at every club what I call “the Silverbacks” - retired players in there doing the heavy lifting, so that all the players have to do is train and play. That is real progress.

Back then, we players had to buy our own boots and strips, these days, they get them supplied – that is even-better progress.

Fullarton was looking good on a sun-kissed afternoon, enhanced by the large number of “Troon Tottie” on the sidelines in short skirts and shorts, exposing sun tans in places we old guys didn't know ladies had skin. Ayr may boast of its “Bonnie Lassies” (rightly-so – I married one); but, Troon will give the county seat a run for its money any day when it comes to lovely ladies.

Marr's on-field success has led to enhanced sponsorship and interest, there was a good crowd along either touchline for the game.

Marr might not have a grandstand, far-less press seats, but, the atmosphere along “Hecklers' Hill” and the banter there, is difficult to surpass at any Scottish ground. This season, on the clubhouse side, Marr have built a new barrier, with a shelf on top for the placing of plastic beer glasses – another point where rugby beats football – the fact you are allowed to drink and watch at rugby matches. One wonders if the sophisticates who follow the Bigot Brothers will ever evolve sufficiently to enjoy such a common-place right.

Enough colour, what about the game. Well, we happy few, we band of brothers who promote Super6 can always point-out the sheer speed and physicality of Scottish Rugby's bastard child. We can extol the defensive excellence of Ayrshire Bulls' defence, or the excellence of Watsonians' forward play. Yes, there is a gap, but, when, as on Saturday, Marr are motoring on all cylinders – that gap isn't that great.

But, they cannot sustain maximum velocity for the full 80 minutes, and that is why in a head-to-head, the S6 side would win, but, in games such as this, where both sides are prepared to have a go ball-in-hand and you get ten tries, the Premiership has meaning and life.

In my match report, I gave the M-o-M award to Marr's Gordy Reid. The only person who told me not to be so silly was Stephen Adair, Marr's forward coach and Gordy's “only pal.” How I wish more top players, on getting off the pro rugby treadmill, would, as Gordy is doing, step down to the amateur club game and pass on their knowledge.

For instance, Marr tight-head Craig Miller came up through the ranks at Ayr, had a short spell with the Ayrshire Bulls, but didn't cut the mustard. He went to Marr, where, under the direction of Adair and Reid, he has developed into a more than adequate club tight-head. That's what can happen if you can get a former top player to step down and impart what he has learned.

Finally in this segment, it was good to bump into a blast from the past – speaking to former Kilmarnock and Glasgow number eight Hugh Hamilton at the game. I haven't seen Hughie for more than 40 years, it was great to catch-up.

WITH THE 'Colour Piece' out of the way, time to reflect on Week One of the Premiership campaign. No surprise to see Currie Chieftains setting the pace, chased by Edinburgh Academical, Marr and Glasgow Hawks, all of whom posted bonus-point wins, over Jed-forest, GHA, Musselburgh and Heriot's respectively, while Hawick and Selkirk shared the spoils in a 20-20 Mansfield Park draw.

No surprises there then, and what a set-up for next weekend, with second-placed Accies hosting Marr at Raeburn Place, that should be a cracker.

IN SUPER6 table-topping Watsonians, Ayrshire Bulls and Boroughmuir Bears are starting to erase away from the other three clubs. For me, the big mystery is what has happened to Stirling Wolves? Bottom of the table and still pointless after four games, that's not where I expected them to be at this stage.

OK, there is currently such an injury crisis at the club that the Bridgehaugh dressing room looks like Emergency Ward Ten, and loan deals are having to be arranged with other clubs. However, Ben Cairns is such a good coach that I can see the tide turning, once the injured players get back. Mind you, I still maintain, Stirling haven't really clicked since they lost Archie “the sensible” Russell.

FINALLY – if the SRU aren't concerned about this next statistic, they bloody-well should be.

Twenty-one National Shield, first round fixtures were scheduled for Saturday. Nine of these, roughly 43% went unplayed. Eight of these were off because one or other of the competing sides could not raise a full XV.

If a club cannot raise a team on the opening day of the season, then that club has a problem. When a handful of clubs fail to trap, the game has a problem – a big problem, which can only get worse as the season progresses.

 

Once More Onto The Roller Coaster

THIS new season 2022-23 will be my 61^st in club rugby, as a player or, for most of them, as a rugby writer. My first, season 1962-63, began with a game for Cumnock Rugby Club 2^nd XV, away to Dalry High School FP, on that mud-heap of a pitch behind what was then Dalry High School.

I formed a teenaged second row pairing with Jim Yates, then a teenaged apprentice mechanic, talked-into playing by his boss and Cumnock co-founder Ronnie Houston. That was Yatesie's only game of rugby – he immediately reverted to football, where, as a millionaire haulage company boss, he was a generous and dedicated fan and sponsor of Cumnock Juniors, before his untimely, early death.

The wheel of history has turned nicely, since, this afternoon, Cumnock will open their new season with a National Shield, first round meeting with Garnock, a club formed by the merger of Dalry HSFP and Old Speirians, at Lochshore. This is the first in a pair of back-to-back meetings of the two clubs, they open their West Region Division One campaign at Broomfield next Saturday.

This opening fixture will allow Garnock to pay tribute to two stalwarts whom they lost recently – the great Niven Rose, whose early representative honours were won with Dalry, and former Old Speirians legend Jock Clark. We too at Cumnock are mourning a couple of heavy losses, club co-founder Alan Davidson and Billy Jolly.

Meanwhile, I will be at Fullarton, covering Marr v Musselburgh. And looking forward to the usual banter with new Marr President Tony Peters and his co-conspiritor, Glenn Davis – Scottish Rugby's answer to Jack and Victor. That's another nice wee reminder of times past. My first game of rugby was for Cumnock Academy v Marr College, at the College grounds in Troon. Needless to say I scored, using my searing pace from full-back to be first to and touch down a box kick from Rab McSeveney, a team mate since Lugar Primary School football days.

I later partnered Rab's younger brother Donald, (known to all as Duck) in the Academy second row. Duck was some man, acquaintances from West Region rugby may not believe this, but, compared to Duck, Robert Dale was a quiet, clean-playing, law-abiding paragon!!

I remember, being sent to The Rector one school day, for some breach of discipline, to be joined outside his office by Duck and his wing-man, Raymond Bunting, an immensely-gifted but daft as a brush midfielder in a great Academy football team.

The three of us were ushered into the inner sanctum together, to be informed in The Rector's nasal tones: “We have 1500 pupils in this school, 1500, 1497 can behave themselves, then there are you three.” Since he already knew, all three of us would be leaving at the rapidly-arriving summer break, we were advised not to bother him again; a get out of jail card we gladly pocketed.

If we were the three worst-behaved pupils at The Academy, next-worst was probably Ayr legend Jock Craig – ours was a vintage year.

Enough of this nostalgia pish – what about the new season. Well, like everyone in Ayrshire, while hoping that Marr can do the hard bit and successfully defend their Premiership title; for me the big question is who will come out on top in West Division One, where half of the clubs are from God's County.

I expect Marr to be too-strong for visitors Musselburgh this afternoon, the question for the Fullarton Faithful who will crowd 'Hecklers' Hill' being, how will our scrum stand up to the loss of most of the front five from last season?

Props William Farquhar, Brandon Sweet and Calvin Henderson having been snapped-up by the Bulls and the Bears for Super6 of late, and promising lock Harry Murray's future in doubt due to a long-term injury; so they have lost some forward fire-power. Add the departure of Mackenzie Pearce and the Marr pack which was such a weapon in last season's title win, is carrying a bit less oomph.

But, Gordy Reid is back for another campaign and he will hopefully bring the best out of the new boys.

Elsewhere in the top flight, I will be interested in how Heriot's Blues go after their promotion last season. There are few cannier coaches than Phil Smith, who will have his side well-prepared for this new challenge. I also expect Currie Chieftains, having led the league at the end of the regular season, before falling to an inspired Marr in the title game, to be once more involved at the sharp end of the season, while, don't write-off a Hawick side boosted by the return from S6 of Dalton Redpath.

Heriot's kick-off with a visit to Glasgow Hawks, who have recruited some exciting youngsters in the close season, but might be light on street-wise experience, while Hawick start with a home Borders Battle against Selkirk, with, as an added bonus – the Bill McLaren Shield up for grabs and Currie entertain Jed-forest. The final match sees Edinburgh Academical entertaining GHA.

LAST NIGHT'S FOSROC Super6 clash between Ayrshire Bulls and Watsonians was a game which had everything you would expect from the clash of the two best sides in the competition.

Bulls deservedly won 24-17, because I feel, they wanted it more. This was one the home team had to win, a Watsonians' victory would, I feel, have made them extremely-difficult to stop from taking the title.

Bulls also banished any carry-over from those really-poor 15 minutes or so which cost them so dearly against the same opponents a couple of games ago.

Both sides played some good stuff, the defences were excellent on both sides and in the end, it was the impact of the Bulls' bench which made the difference.

Big Bulls' centre Jamie Shedden's two tries earned him the Man-of-the Matcfh accolade, deservedly so. However, another big shift from Rory Jackson of the Bulls, again had me questioning who makes the keep them or release them decisions at Glasgow Warriors.

Pleasing too to see Watsonians giving some very-promising young players game time off the bench. S6 is maturing.

Finally, for an hour or so, I thought referee David Sutherland was excellent; then I think he maybe got a bet on, that the visitors could salvage a losing bonus point, and, starting with one absolute howler at the break-down, when he wrongly penalised the Bulls, I felt he lost the plot. He seemed to me too, determined to find some means of yellow carding Bulls' skipper Blair Macpherson.

I Feel Paying For This Jersey Is A Big Con

SOME 40 years ago I travelled to the Pacific North West and the Rockies to cover a Scotland rugby tour. The SRU had done their homework on likely conditions there in May and June, and as a result they got then kit suppliers Umbro to produce lightweight jerseys for the tour. These were not skimpy, but certainly not as robust as the jerseys worn in the preceding Five Nations.

That all was not well was soon evident. The Scotland XV front row emerged from the first scrum of the opening game against a Vancouver Island Select with their jerseys torn asunder. From memory, the tourists got through 19 jerseys in that one game. A series of late-night telephone calls between the touring party's management and Murrayfield, and between Murrayfield and Umbro, saw a complete set of new, more robust jerseys air-freighted to Vancouver before the second game, against British Columbia – a match Scotland managed to lose from a winning position, plus ca change etc.

I remember one of the travelling Scotland supporters, a former internationalist, seldom seen without his Hawick club blazer on, sitting in the stand at the picturesque MacDonald Park, home of the great James Bay Rugby Club in Victoria, tearing strips off one of the discarded Scotland jerseys and, with all his many years of experience of the Hawick textile trade, describing the jerseys as: “shite, pure shite.”

The reason for dredging-up this rave from the grave story – well I've just read the Macron corporate bullshit about the new 2022-23 and Scotland home kit.

“Eco-friendly – 13 half-litre plastic bottles recycled into every jersey,” all very noble, but, their made of polyester. To me, polyester means cheap and, regardless of the technology involved, I'd rather we stuck with real thread such as cotton.

I also don't like the paler blue collars and cuffs. Scotland strips should be navy blue, with white collars and cuffs. And while I am at it, the stockings should be navy blue, ok, I could live with a white top to the stockings.

Still, I don't suppose this strip will have much of a life, shelf-life or otherwise, we've got a Men's World Cup coming in 380 days' time, so in perhaps less than a year from now, they will be rushing out the new kit for that little bean feast.

BACK when I was a boy, in our wee part of God's County, only poofs played rugby – real men played Junior Football. Back then, we were allowed to ease our way into the new season. The first game in the new official Scottish Leagues, for example, were played on 6 October, 1974; that was the sixth Saturday of the new season.

This date was deliberately chosen, to allow the clubs to play: “long standing friendly fixtures,” such as the traditional September long weekend matches, which allowed top Glasgow sides such as Accies, High School and West of Scotland to go down to the Borders and receive a good kicking, to forewarn them of what was to come later in the season.

Those six weeks gave every club the chance to bed-in partnerships that worked and get used to playing together before the real league grind started.

The 2022-23 season officially kicks-off on Saturday, and it's straight into league or cup action. I appreciate, many clubs have already played pre-season friendlies and most will be ready to go from week one, but, I still feel, we have not got the seasonal structure right for either the clubs, or the greater entity that is Scottish Rugby.

Again I remind the congregation, back in the 1960s and 1970s the 15-a-side season was strictly controlled. No games before 1 September and none after 30 April. If we look at these dates for this season, it still gives us 35 weeks, in which to play a maximum of 22 league games.

Why cannot we play friendlies or regional or County cup ties over the other weeks? And that's before we consider that, in recent years, the season has been stretched-out to include matches in May.

I am sure we can do better.

MY CURRENT bedtime, indeed down-time reading is: 'When Pride Still Mattered,' noted American writer David Maraniss's 1999 biography of American Football coaching legend Vince Lombardi, pictured.

 I have only scratched the surface of this 500-plus page in-depth tome, indeed, where I am, the 26-year-old Lombardi is only just starting out as a teacher. But, what has struck me already is the way my noble calling of sports-writing is or was treated in the United States compared to over here.

My mentor, the great Ian 'Dan' Archer was one of the truly-great chroniclers of Scottish sport. But, he knew how far down the journalistic totem pole we sat. “Never forget Commander,” he would caution; “We might think our job is important, but, as far as management is concerned – we write for the comic pages.”

However, with their prose guys such as Dan, the Daily Mail's Ian Wooldridge, Hughie McIlvanney, Norman Mair, Bill McLaren and
Frank Keating could lift a simple match report to the heights of literature as they described a great sporting occasion.

But, few, perhaps only “The Voice” as McLaren was dubbed, became public figures anywhere close to the standing of the great American sports-writers such as Grantland Rice or Damon Runyan, who chronicled Lombardi's short but storied playing career.

For instance, I had heard of the legend of Notre Dame's “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” In his book, Maraniss records, exactly as written, how Rice came up with this legendary handle. He also repeats the tale of how Lombardi became known as one of Fordham University's 'Seven Pillars of Granite. How Chick Young must be regretting not naming one or two Old Firm back fours as: “Fower pun o' mince.”

Sadly, while we still have one or two excellent operators out there in Scotland, I fear the day of the sports journalist as a writer of literature are over. Even our broadcast journalists of today are pale imitations of the likes of Bill McLaren or Arthur Montford – pound shop Archie Macphersons the lot of them.

Mind you, the biggest jings, crivvens, help ma Boab I've got out of my early reading of the Lombardi biography is the realisation, Lombardi and Wullie Shankly, perhaps the two most-quoted coaches in the history of the various forms of football, were born within three months of each other. Lombardi was born on 11 June, Shankly on 2 September, 1913. That was some vintage.

 

BBC Shortbread Has Little Taste For Rugby

I FIND BBC Shortbread a very-strange beast, particularly when it comes to its sports coverage. On radio, Sportsound should really be re-named Oldfirmsound, since it's all abut the Bigot Brothers. The television coverage of sport is maybe a bit broader-based, mainly because the big money English-based stations have syphoned-off Old Firm coverage, but, some of the local presenters and reporters; oh dear! A case of rising without trace and largely without talent.

However, I think the lack of talent is particularly felt at managerial level, where decisions are taken as to which sports to cover. The main weekly diet is: fitba, then mair fitba, with an optional side dish of women's fitba. Yes, they cover curling well at the big events, but, as far as BBC Shortbread is concerned, we might as well not be playing rugby below full-time professional level.

Take Saturday; I logged-on to the SRU website to check on coverage of Ayrshire Bulls v Boroughmuir Bears, to be assured I could watch the game live on the BBC iplayer. Well, I switched over at the correct time, just before the 2pm kick-off. I am still waiting for the coverage to start. It was the same story at 4.30pm, for Heriot's v Watsonians.

At least, the SRU website did, as advertised, offer live coverage, so I got to see both games.

Being an Ayrshireman, I am biased in favour of the Bulls, who bounced back from last week's loss at Myreside to thump the previously unbeaten Bears. Again, as throughout this new season – other than the first 15 minutes of the second half at Myreside, when the wheels came off the bus – Bulls' defence, both structured and scramble, was outstanding and the bedrock of the win.

Since I was the guy who suggested the Bulls have a look at him, I was delighted with the performance of centre Jamie Shedden for the home team. He's a talented boy, he's big, and quick, and he can only learn from training alongside the likes of coaches Frazier Climo, Robbie Fergusson and his co-centre Bobby Beattie. Great too to see home-grown Millbrae talent like stand-off Richard Simpson stepping up so easily from National League One last , season.

Tom Jordan, now with Glasgow Warriors, was a wee bit special for Bulls, but, I think it is fair to say both newcomer Will Hunt and Simpson look better in the ten jersey than Christian Townsend did; which perhaps confirms, the SRU's in-house talent identification isn't as good as it might be.

Having a famous name and coming out of an elite Edinburgh school might give you an initial advantage, but, overall talent will out.

Mind you, particularly in the second half, with the game gone, the Bears played some good rugby and deserved to not get zeroed on the day. They too, have some promising young, home-grown talent coming through.

A final thought: the Bulls' line-out misfired a bit, can they not get say a former international hooker onto the coaching team to rectify this problem?

I HAVE long worried about the survival of Glasgow Hawks. They are a dedicated bunch, real rugby men such as Brian Simmers, Alasdair Graham and Kenny Hamilton; Hugh Barrow, who runs the website and the player registration side of things as well as he used to run mile races, these guys – and others such as that ultimate West End Girl Rona Gibson make trips to Balgray a joy.

I still miss the frequent free advice I received from the late Tom Howie, while sharing the press table in the Jimmy Ireland Stand with the late and much-missed Alex Gordon and the now-retired Alan Christie was a joy. Some of Alex's streams of consciousness enlivened many a dreich second half.

I feared for the club's future when some of the vision-lacking backwoodsmen either side of the Anniesland hedge cut Hawks off from foundation clubs Accies and GHK. But, Hawks rode-out this crazy split, as they also rode-out the equally crass decision by the SRU to not award a Super6 franchise to the club. Still, having also seen some of their best sponsors pinched by the governing body, who wanted them for Glasgow Warriors, Hawks are well-used to being booted in the goolies by The Junta at EH12.

Hawks' failed submission for S6 was actually closer to what we understand the SRU might wish to see, but, they went with a couple of Edinburgh Establishment sides instead.

I mention Hawks here, after reading the latest edition of Onside, the club's digital newsletter, a labour of love by that tireless enthusiast Alasdair Graham. In it, Al lists the new faces at Balgray this season. They are all young men, recruited from awe the airts and while I fear the squad might lack a central core of experienced, battle-hardened warriors, there is certainly a lot of talent there.

By my counting, nine of the current full Scotland squad have pulled on Hawks' strip, as have a considerable number of S6 players. The new lads this season will be given every chance to follow in their footsteps. That's why I will be hoping for the best for the Balgray Boys in the new season.

NOW I AM coming out of athletics and general sports mode and back into rugby mode, I have started looking ahead to the new club season, which kicks-off on Saturday.

I will have to keep a close eye this campaign on West Region Division One, a league in which five of the ten clubs are from God's County – Ayrshire. These are Ardrossan Academicals, Carrick, Cumnock, Garnock and Kilmarnock, so the exchanges and the fight for bragging rights is going to be intense.

Mind you, the SRU computer did Cumnock and Garnock no favours. They clash, at Garnock's Lochshore, on Saturday in the first round of the National Shield, before meeting again on 3 September, in the opening league fixture, at Broomfield.

The SRU's referee appointments team might want to think of rostering either Hollie Davidson or Mike Adamson on that one.

 

The Cattigan Case - Can We Please Keep The Heid

BACK IN the good old days of “hot metal publishing,” when men were men (am I still allowed to say this?) and we didn't have Sturmbannfuhrer desk jockeys trying to keep reporters chained to their desk top computers or permanently on the end of their mobiles when they very occasionally are allowed out of the office, the young, idealistic Me was given some advice which I have never forgotten.

This came from an old bowling writer, a man whose copy was as crisp as his jack-high deliveries on the green: “Never, ever, get involved in the politics of women's sports – it's the dirtiest form of warfare there is.” That guy had waded ashore on Sword Beach on D-Day, so, he knew what he was talking about.

I discovered the truth of his advice a few years later, when, on a bad day at the office, I told the Queen Bee of the local women's bowling ranks where to get off when she tried to give me a dressing down over something or other. She, went back to the other ladies who ran local bowling and gave me a less than glowing reference. It took me a wee while, and the intervention of our photographer, who was incredibly friendly (that's a euphemism) with one or two of the ladies, to discover just why, thereafter, the other ladies always kept me well-served with drinks when covering bowling events.

It seems, and this will be news to a lot of my male readers – whenever you have a group of women, seemingly on a mutual journey, there are always differences, back-biting and petty jealousies. The female of the species is indeed deadlier than the male.

You might think, with four daughters, I would be aware of this.

Any way, I sense a wee bit of this in the sad fall-out from the death of Siobahn Cattigan and the subsequent newspaper coverage. On Thursday, we had Bill Mitchell, CEO of RPS (Rugby Players Scotland) putting out a statement, on behalf of the Scottish Women's A squad, in which they offer support for the level of physical and pastoral care the squad gets from the SRU's management team.

This was quickly followed by some twitter posts from an estimated 20 individual members of the squad which ways: “As a squad we were never aware of this RPS article being published or the statements attributed to the team in this article. We are grieving our friend and teammate, our thoughts are with Siobhan’s family.”

You will notice, no refuting of the veracity of the RPS statement, but, as with that statement, support for the Cattigan family at this difficult time.

To me, this is yet another demonstration of a basic failing of the SRU – they might be good at the big picture, but, it's the tiny details which let them down. Reading of these twitter posts (I don't do twitter myself) I get the impression, in putting together the original statement, not every member of the squad was consulted.

In any case, I don't think it should have been up to Bill Mitchell, such a statement, ought to have come from the Scotland Women's Team Manager – whoever that is. Also, can I say, putting-out such a statement looks from the outside like “corporate speak” - we had better say something to defend our position.

This isn't always necessary, some times, you say more by saying nothing. In any case, the ruling Junta at the SRU doesn't have a very good track record in dealing with controversy in recent years.

I recall reading in an old Readers Digest, which I was leafing through in a surgery waiting room, about the expression: “Anything for the mouse,” which is seemingly the motto of the young executives in the Walt Disney organisation – they will do anything to maintain the good name of Mickey & Co. Maybe we should see some of this attitude within Murrayfield – the SRU isn't looking all that great in this case.

I feel for the Cattigan family, they must be going through a continuous Hell. I feel too for the remaining squad members, who are still mourning a friend. But, please, can we all remember a great Scottish expression and just keep the heid here. Perhaps the best way of remembering and honouring Siobahn would be for the squad to unite and over-perform at the upcoming World Cup.

RIGHT NOW I've got a bit of a feeling of everyone being out of step but Aristotle. I say this on reflecting on one of the big decisions from the SRU Annual Meeting – that from season 2023-24, we will have a Premiership and four National Leagues of ten clubs each. That means there will be four more National League clubs than at present.

OK, the SRU is a democracy and that's what the clubs want – more National Leagues. I make no apologies for repeating what I have long said, given the quality of rugby in Scotland and the problems we are having in retaining younger players, we should be looking for fewer National Leagues, not more.

When the old Unofficial Championship was played for the final time, 50 years ago in season 1972-73, there were 32 clubs involved. That was deemed sufficient then, I fail to see how Scottish Rugby has expanded to the extent we need to have the number of National League clubs expanded by 56.25% today.

REGULAR readers may recall me speculating as to whether or not Keith Wallace might need wellingtons or waders, to wade through the pish he might find inside the tent, now he has become SRU Vice-President.

Keith referred to this after I dropped him a congratulatory e-mail on his election. His reply said simply: “Help, I need a wet suit and snorkel.”

FINALLY – It hasn't been a great 36 hours or so for Scotland's leading media outlet for Rugby Union – The Offside Line. They broke the story of Bill Mitchell's press release, and have been hammered by BTL (Below the Line) comments, including some from the “green ink, Disgusted of Galashiels” corner of the body of the kirk; and all big David Barnes did was his job.

Without Big D covering most of the bases, Scottish Rugby would be down there with lacrosse and handball in the minor sports section of the media. He did nothing wrong in the way he handled that story.

TOL is still where it's at in rugby reporting in Scotland, and we're lucky to have it.

 

Time For Some Innovative Thinking Inside Murrayfield

REMEMBER the early days of Gregor Townsend's reign as Scotland Head Coach; all that optimistic talk of playing the fastest rugby in the world. Well reality intervened and, more-so since the honcho from Gala appears to be having what is known in the rock music business as “creative differences” with front man Finn Russell and lead guitarist Stuart Hogg, that wish for free-flowing riffing appears to have been replaced by a sort of Victor Silvester strict tempo play.

OK, before you decide: “The old bugger's flipped again” and switch quickly to The Offside Line, bear with me – all will become clear. Remember how it was when Toony was in-charge at Scotstoun and Glasgow Warriors, with Leone Nakarawa and Niko Matawalu in the van, used to go “coast-to-coast” on a regular basis, scoring epic tries which often began behind their own line.

Yes, I appreciate the “Weegies frae Fiji” are no longer on the Warriors' roster, but, they weren't the only ones who could off-load, support run and score breathtaking tries. I just feel, the coaching encouragement which brought us those glorious times has been lost. Toony no longer asks his Scotland side to try the things he used to encourage his Warriors to attempt – and his successors at Scotstoun appear to have gone back to almost “rugby by numbers” - with ball carriers seemingly encouraged to take contact, set-up rucks and mauls and attack from set-pieces, rather than attempting flowing, ball retaining handling rugby from anywhere.

The problem appears to be spreading. Week Two of the FOSROC SUPER6 competition was a case in point. Certainly, in the Watsonians v Ayrshire Bulls match, the meeting of arguably the two best sides in the competition, there were passages where both sides indulged in off-loading and we saw some great inter-play. But, both at Myreside and in the other two matches, such passages were few and far between, and much of what we saw, while at almost full-time levels of physicality, and was a terrific example of defensive effort, was mundane, perhaps over-coached rugby by numbers.

I get the impression, because the SRU Professional and Performance Departments are so centralised – the Union either totally owns or has a controlling financial interest in the two full-time professional and six semi-professional teams, the playing style is being dictated from inside EH12.

Rugby Union is not like Association Football. In “The Beautiful Game,” coaches have more choice in how they set-up their team. Some play 4-4-2, others 4-2-4, 4-3-3, 3-4-3, 4-2-2-1-1 etc. Even today, some 70 years since any team last played in this formation, teams are published in 2-3-5 formation. That's two full-backs, three half-backs and five forwards.

I was born in February, 1947 – the first Scotland football team of my lifetime was the one which faced England, at Wembley, on 12 April, 1947: Willie Miller (Celtic); George Young, Jock Shaw (both Rangers); Archie McAuley (Brentford), Willie Woodburn (Rangers), Alex Forbes (Sheffield United); Gordon Smith (Hibernian), Andy McLaren (Preston North End), Jimmy Delaney (Manchester United), Billy Steel (Greenock Morton), Tommy Pearson (Newcastle United).

That's the way it was read-out after the SFA Selectors picked it. However, on the day it lined-up: Miller; Young, Woodburn, Shaw; McLaren, McAuley, Steel, Forbes; Smith, Pearson; Delaney. That's 3-4-2-1 rather than 3-5-2. That's the formation Scotland played up until the mid-1960s: the guys wearing shirts numbers 2, 3 and 5 remained at the back; numbers 4, 6, 8 and 10 operated as box-to-box midfielders, numbers 7 and 11 played in an advanced role on the wings with number 9 as a traditional old-style centre forward, up front.

Then, around 1964 or thereabouts, one or other of the guys wearing 4 or 6 dropped back to become a twin centre-half, at the same time the wingers began to be re-classified as “midfielders” while generally the guy wearing number 10 began to play “in the hole” as a slightly withdrawn, second centre forward.

By the time we posted that epic Wembley win over the Auld Enemy in 1967, things were tweaked again. Bobby Brown may have announced his team as: Simpson, Gemmell, McCreadie; Greig, McKinnon, Baxter; Wallace, Bremner, McCalliog, Law, Lennox, but, they actually lined-up: Simpson, Gemmell, McKinnon, Greig, McCreadie; Baxter; Wallace, Bremner, McCalliog, Lennox; Law. Subtle changes, but, they worked.

To come right up to date, the last Scotland team to take the field, the XI which beat Armenia 4-1 back in June, was published as: Craig Gordon (Heart of Midlothian); Nathan Patterson (Everton), Greg Taylor (Celtic); Scott McTominay (Manchester United), Greg Hanley (Norwich City), Jack Hendry (Club Brugge); John McGinn (Aston Villa), Billy Gilmour (Chelsea/Norwich City), Che Adams (Southampton), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Stuart Armstrong (Southampton). That's how it was announced, but, the actual formation was: Gordon; McTominay, Hanley, Hendry; Patterson, McGinn, Gilmour, Taylor; McGregor, Armstrong; Adams.

Now look at Rugby Union in my lifetime. The first Scotland team of my life was the one which lost 5-24 to England in the Calcutta Cup clash on 15 March, 1947. This team was announced as: KI Geddes; TGH Jackson (both London Scottish); CW Drummond (Melrose), WH Munro (Glasgow High School FP), DD Mackenzie (Edinburgh University); CR Bruce (Glasgow Academical), E Anderson (Stewart's College FP); TPL McGlashan (Royal High School FP), AT Fisher (Waterloo), HH Campbell (London Scottish); FH Coutts (The Army), IC Henderson (Edinburgh Academical-Wanderers); DD Valentine (Hawick), DI McLean (Royal High School FP), WID Elliot (Edinburgh Academical-Wanderers). The team, in that order, wore numbers 1-15, but lined-up: full-back; winger, centre, centre, winger; stand-off, scrum-half; loose-head, hooker, tight-head; lock, lock, wing-forward, number eight, wing-forward.

The last Scotland team to take the field, the one which lost to Argentina on Saturday, 16 July, was: Ollie Smith; Rufus McLean (both Glasgow Warriors), Mark Bennett (Edinburgh Rugby), Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors) Duhan van der Merwe (Worcester Warriors); Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh Rugby), Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors); Rory Sutherland (Worcester Warriors), Ewan Ashman (Sale Sharks), Zander Fagerson; Scott Cummings (both Glasgow Warriors), Jonny Gray (Exeter Chiefs); Rory Darge (Glasgow Warriors), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby), Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors).

The team, in that order had Smith wearing 15, then in descending order to Price wearing 9, then Sutherland to Matt Fagerson wore numbers 1 to 8. The numbering may have changed but, the only other difference was the back row was named: wing-forward, wing-forward, number eight.

This reflects the slight deck chair reshuffling over the past 75 tears. Back in the immediate post-war years, there was still a presumption that the Scotland pack would line-up in 3-2-3 formation. The great argument between 3-2-3 and 3-4-1 was still a decade away, before even the arch-traditionalists such as Lord Bannerman had to concede to 3-4-1.

Today too, we have increased specialisation – the centres tend to line-up inside (12) and outside (13), props who can work on either side of the scrum are prized for their rarity and versatility, while wing-forwards, like centres, no longer appear to pack down left or right, but as blind side (6) and open-side (7).

Common sense today might suggest the forwards should be numbered as they pack down: 1-2-3; 4-5-6-7; 8. However, they are still more or less numbered as if 3-2-3 remains the formation of choice.

Obviously, Rugby Union is a more-structured form of football than the free-flowing Association variety; our game has never been prey to the tactical innovations and occasional out of the box thinking of football.

OK, occasionally you will see the full-back, rather than the stand-off as first receiver, and we have wing-in incursions at odd times and angles. Yes, Scotland, under Toony, have demonstrated some innovative thinking at the lines-out, but, other than asking why the ball carriers attacked defenders rather than space, I doubt if any of the 1947 Scotland rugby team, recalled from that great pavilion in the sky, would be unable to work out what was going on on the modern field.

The 1947 footballers, in a similarly hypothetical situation, having to have “sweeper-keepers” - “pressing” - “false nines” and “wing backs” explained to them, might well be asking: “what game is this I am watching?”

[LEFT FIELD THINKING ALERT]: I am told packing 3-2-3 was essential for Scotland to launch their famed forwards' foot rushes, as the cry of “Feet Scotland, feet,” reverberated around the great open bowl of post-war Murrayfield. I've been following Scotland since the 1955 win over Wales, in “Arthur Smith's Match.” I cannot recall an old-fashioned Scottish foot rush in all that time, but, I understand, from speaking to some now departed old timers, when done properly – and the forwards of the time practised it religiously, it was a deadly ploy.

Maybe the SRU could look out some grainy old sepia-toned film, study it and bring the foot rush out of retirement and right up to date. As a shock tactic it might work.

I might be talking out of my erse with this dissertation on “Feet Scotland, feet,” or, on the other hand, I might be on to something. Let's see some innovative thinking coming out of Murrayfield, it might be good for Scottish Rugby. To reference the old Avis Car Rental advert. They admitted, they were not as big as arch-rivals Hertz, but, they did promise to try harder.

Trying harder might be a good place for Scotland to start from.