THE ELEPHANT in the room, the one Rugby Union is loath to discuss is the fact, it is only at elite international level that the game makes money. The French Top 14 – courtesy of a wonderfully lucrative television deal and, to a degree, the way local authorities help fund their local teams – makes good money for the clubs, but, the other two major leagues rely on the deep pockets of millionaire club backers (England's Prem) and the fact the clubs are de facto arms of the relevant national union (the United Rugby Championship).
I have long wondered: how much longer will the sugar daddies of the Prem continue to subsidise a financially failing league, before they cry enough and we see the only professional club league which makes sense – a club version of the Guinness Six Nations.
That said, Ah hae ma doots about the ability of Twickenham's 57 Old Farts to get a sensible English presence in any such super league, in the face of the determination of England's big club owners – with the certain assistance of the Welsh Rugby Union – who want cross-border games so badly they would sell their souls to guarantee it – to run the show to suit themselves.
The Irish would be ok – they have perhaps the closest thing to a system that works: four provincial unions with their own histories and an indulgent national union. We Scots, we would probably be cast as the honest brokers, trying to get the others to see sense; except, can you recognise much common sense coming out of Murrayfield of late?
I see the mice, having finally rid themselves of that big fat Mancunian cat, still cavorting and enjoying life without thinking too deeply of the future.
Any way, enough of this stream of consciousness, let's consider the reality of the present day. The BKT United Rugby Championship table makes excellent reading this morning: Edinburgh – played 3 won 3, topping the table on 14 points. Glasgow – played 3 won 2, drawn 1, on point behind, on 13 points. Our two clubs currently enjoy a three-point gap on their pursuers, that pack led ominously by a trio of South African sides.
The URC is a marathon, not a sprint, but, our two sides have started well. This week, however, their early season impetus could be stymied somewhat, since they have to remove their league heads and put on their European ones – with Edinburgh opening their European Challenge Cup campaign by entertaining Toulon on Friday night, while Glasgow get their Investec Champions Cup expedition underway in Manchester, against Sale Sharks on Saturday.
While a number of Scotland's few world class players: Blair Kinghorn, Huw Jones, Finn Russell, Ben White to name but a few, earn bigger money in England and France, the bulk of the national squad are with Edinburgh and Glasgow. This means, Scottish calls will impact on when they can turn out for the two clubs and in the past, when the home-based big names have been missing, the clubs have struggled.
This season both clubs have, in the early games, managed to achieve good results with teams containing as many journeymen as stars, and this bodes well for the rest of the season. Trips to Parma have proved difficult in the past for Edinburgh, but, on Saturday, a squad bereft of a few big names managed to emerge with a bonus point win and while the performance wasn't a symphony of soaring, running rugby, a win is a win is a win, with some of the lesser lights playing a big role in delivering it.
Coming, as it did, on the back of a good Glasgow win over Connacht, it completed a good weekend for the two clubs. The Glasgow win included no less than four tries off mauls for the Warriors' pack – a sign that the piano shifters are again finding their feet at the right time.
Like Edinburgh, Glasgow's cause this season has not been harmed by an early reliance on lesser lights – long may the wins continue.
OK, THE WEANS at TNT Sport will be all orgasmic about Northampton v Bath, but, for me the match of the weekend was the Bledisloe Cup clash in Auckland in which the All Blacks put Australia to the sword.
If you missed the live transmission, at seven o' clock on Saturday morning, do try to catch a look somewhere. This was a real Test Match, enhanced by a wonderful exhibition of centre play from Jordie Barrett – the one currently-active centre who is better than oor ain Sione Tuipulotu.
The All Blacks didn't always get the quick ruck ball which Attack Coach Mike Blair wants to see; however, half-back Cam Riogarde is brilliant at making good ball out of bad, and, when they did get quick ruck ball, you could see the squad flourishing on Blair's attacking ideas.
Victory also handed the ABs possession of, as well as the Bledisloe Cup, The Raeburn Shield, that under-rated trophy which goes to the lineal World Champions. It might not be “Bill” - The William Webb Ellis Trophy, awarded to the World Cup winners, but, it's still a bit of bling which is worth having.
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