A Long Read - Random Thoughts On A Sticky Subject

THIS WEEK, I have been following an interesting debate, on Facebook, concerning the future shape of Scottish Rugby. I have copied and pasted the thread below, for the edification of those who may have missed it.

Original post, by Gavin Blackburn:

Rumours and I reiterate its rumours but from what's being branded about: the FOSROC Super6 will be rebranded to Super8 with a squad from London Scottish and one playing out of Scotstoun under the Glasgow Warriors banner.

This could finish many of the clubs playing in Premiership and National league structure. Will take us back to potential regional rugby.

Scottish Rugby you are going to finish our game as we know it.

Andy Miller (first reply):

Don’t think it will change anything if these two teams were to join - it was always going to be expanded anyway. What they need is to play the academy players all the time and get them into the pro teams without buying players in.

Kevin C Brown to Andy Miller - Exactly this.

 

Gavin Blackburn to Andy Miller: It will change how the Glasgow clubs can hold onto players. Anyone that dismisses this is really holding the club game in low regard. They want a franchise out of Scotstoun, then Glasgow clubs are going to be seriously affected.

Iain Milne:

It was always likely to go to 8 and the inclusion of London Scottish is a great idea. Tap into potential down South, it will create interest up here and give a new challenge to the clubs up here. If the Welsh cross border were to continue we have exciting challenges for the players up here.

John Thorburn to Iain Milne:

Don't see how it will challenge the clubs up here, it may challenge the franchises which are half owned by the SRU. It will be good to see what the strategy is and how club rugby will look?

Kevin H Wyness to Iain Milne: The Welsh clubs have their own issues and are very unlikely to be part of this malarkey.

Jim Gemmell:

It’s all ££££££££££££££££ feck all requirement of clubs .. it’s really pathetic of the SRU. Time they woke up and listened to the clubs and fans.

Gavin Blackburn:

Where do these academy players come from that will be playing under the potential Glasgow Warriors banner? Hawks, GHA?

So these young players will be lost to the likes of these clubs I'm sure. Now Stage 3 players, they will be affiliated to Warriors anyway but what about the Stage 1 and 2 players where will they go? Warriors as well?

Would they not be better playing for their club of origin to continue developing? So clubs in Glasgow could potentially nurture young players from P3 up to U18; they show potential THEN they are whisked away to Glasgow Warriors Super 8 without playing a 1st team game for their club?

But it's OK because as a certain individual said "Fewer is stronger" and that man has been allowed to rip the heart out of the club game. Come on clubs: wakey wakey sit up and do something about it collectively.

John Thorburn to Gavin Blackburn:

Spot on.

Iain Milne to Gavin Blackburn:

Gavin, the clubs have failed miserably to work together for years, they have been to full of self interest, I have witnessed this sitting on Prem 1 forums for years, speaking to clubs at all levels who agree in principle to sensible ideas but when it comes to push or shove they do what’s best for their own club!

Ambitious players have always moved up the ladder to test themselves, you won’t stop that. Clubs of course were the worst offenders at encouraging this by offering money to players of dubious standard and motive.

We will talk sometime but club rugby needs to work hard at giving a product players want. Most of club rugby should be about fun, that is or was our strength over many years. This fixation about climbing up leagues no matter what the cost is driving players away.

Kevin C Brown to Gavin Blackburn:

The thing is, the average return for a club spending 12 years developing a player through to exit at U18 is about 6. 6 guys move on to playing Senior rugby in year one. In any year how many of these guys will be good enough to move into super 6? It’s unlikely that even one will be ready for that.

Gavin Blackburn to Kevin C Brown:

I think Hawks and GHA would feel they have many talented players that could be lost to Super 6/8.

Kevin C Brown to Gavin Blackburn:

But at 18? Probably not and the reality as Windy said is players move on. I would argue a bigger concern for Rugby clubs is players who just stop playing at 17/18.

Trevor Carmichael to Kevin C Brown:

There are no incentives for players at Senior Rugby at 18+. Resurrect Inter-District championship at various age groups(U16(maybe), U18 & U21) and senior level. 8 week block of fixtures in a semi pro environment after league campaign or break in season for a Regional Cup competition.

GHA supporters are not going to watch a ex GHA player playing in Super Six. On the other hand GHA supporters would go and watch a GHA player who has been select to play for District side.

Rangi Jericevich to Iain Milne:

We are all entitled to our own views and in a democracy such as the SRU all views should be given a fair hearing and voted on. That is how disputed ideas can be resolved in a civil manner.

The rivalries and differing views between clubs at various levels are a reflection of human nature and with the right system in place these rivalries can be harnessed to drive the game forward. If clubs are to be looked down upon for daring to be ambitious then why do any of us bother to get out of bed in the morning?

I don't wish to get into detail about why I think you are misguided in your thinking but it would have been nice to be given the opportunity to do so at any point during the development of the S6 concept in the first place and now in it's expansion.

The problem with all of this Iain, is that it goes against the very principal of what a Union is supposed to be about and destroys the trust required to keep it on an even keel. There is no forum for discussion or consultation, the SRU is now a dictatorship.

I hope you can reflect on the manner in which this change is being implemented and, whilst we may disagree on things, ask whether this is truly the right way for our game to be run.

Kevin C Brown to Trevor Carmichael:

I wouldn’t disagree about a district competition for Senior amateur players. Regional competition already exists at U16/18/20 level. Why wouldn’t a GHA supporter not go to watch an ex GHA player playing Super 6 as long as it didn’t conflict with a club game? I’d go and watch any game of rugby available to me.

Iain Milne to Rangi Jericevich:

Firstly can I say, as I have said before: Super 6 was not my choice however we have it now and I will support it and try and make it better.

Again as I’ve said before the clubs could not make a decision on how to move forward ( there’s a surprise) but they had the opportunity to put forward their ideas.

Please do no get my views on rugby mixed up with with lack of ambition. That had never been my attitude playing or involved off the pitch.

Ambition can take many forms, it is simply just not about climbing leagues as seems to be the mantra these days. My ambition is for club rugby to be a success again, on and off the pitch.

I would suggest most clubs ambitions should revolve round increasing playing numbers and busy fun club houses, a game for all.

Local leagues. I’ve tried to put forward my ideas in the past but they seemingly are not what clubs wanted so I will concentrate my efforts at My own clubs.

Having been closely involved with club rugby over the last 10 years or so it disappoints me at the lack of progress at club rugby to produce a product that young players of today want, there really has been no change bar Super 6, numbers when I last looked still continue to drop and more fixtures fail to take place.

The clubs have it in their own power to make change but despite many words spoken we have not moved forward.

 

Trevor Carmichael to Kevin C Brown:

Age grade district competitions??? Not to the level that the inter district championship provided many years ago at U18 & U21 levels.

What I’m actually trying to say is crowds would be bigger at an inter district game than at a Super Six game due to this factor. Clubs would also get the benefit of selected players coming back to the club, bringing there experience/ development back to the club and pass onto younger players.

Bottom line everyone would be playing rugby rather than someone being signed to a Super Six side and playing no more than 3 games in one season if that.

Kevin C Brown to Trevor Carmichael:

I’d disagree with you on that. Having coached within the age grade programme with Edinburgh the quality of rugby and the players it has produced is just as good as it was many years ago.

I don't disagree, the appetite for Senior district rep rugby is there. There’s an appetite for Super 6.....2500 folk went to a Boroughmuir game in the first round of games. I’d imagine that an Edinburgh District XV would get about the same in a crowd.

Trevor Carmichael to Kevin C Brown:

Boroughmuir game when they gave away loads of tickets free. I’m not saying the quality isn’t good I just don’t think competitions/tournaments lends well to increasing their experience at a higher level of rugby.

Maybe they would get similar crowds but we need players playing rugby every week during the season - super six doesn’t do that, it’s there to get players ready for step up to the pro game. How is that achievable if half of them aren’t playing.

Kevin C Brown to Trevor Carmichael:

Giving away free stuff is the cornerstone of good sports marketing. I don't think Super 6 is perfect and the issue of players not being able to play for club is probably one of them, but it’s there and happening. It is very unlikely to go away.

Speak to Super 6 players and they will tell you it is a step up from club rugby. The margins of making it as a pro are so thin, but training and playing in higher intensity, more physical and more skilful environments will hopefully help with a greater return.

If in 5 years it doesn’t work then I think people can feel aggrieved but we are always on a knife edge of becoming a rugby backwater......this has to be given the chance to work.

Gavin Blackburn to Kevin C Brown:

Who says Super 6 is the best way forward? The "Union"? The fact remains they could have created a competitive environment by bringing back district rugby within the club season and investing In the top 10/12 clubs in Scotland rather than part owning 6 franchises that play in a structure that actually inhibits players playing the game.

The total investment could have been spread across the premiership and they could quite easily have brought in the top 4 playing in Cross border league with teams from the principality. Now I'm sure that was done before oh that's right it was called the B&I cup.

If we are looking at growing numbers and the quality they should have looked at the top 10/12 maybe even 20 clubs and funded them properly that would have created a sustainable structure that would have kept players playing every week.

The identity players would have had playing for their district would have been massive for the players at the same time.

Kevin C Brown to Gavin Blackburn:

But who’s to say that it isn’t? It here and happening. Could it be done better - absolutely......but time will tell.

In reference to your model, there’s clubs in that top 10/12/20 that I wouldn’t give 50p to because they’d squander it. Not every club is as well run as GHA.

Keeping it narrow focussed the funding on those players most likely to step up. Spread it thinly and it’s less likely to generate success. Similar to the targeted funding in Olympic cycles.

Gavin Blackburn to Kevin C Brown:

We will agree to disagree. The track record the union have with implementing new structures isn't exactly pulsating so we will see what happens.

When you say narrow focused I find your views narrow minded but that's your opinion.

Kevin C Brown to Gavin Blackburn:

I don’t see it as narrow minded, it’s just working within the reality that currently exists.

John F Brown to Trevor Carmichael:

You are 100% correct, the game should be about players playing the game, up or down. So why did the clubs that missed out on Super 6, block players playing for a club side.

It is incompetent of clubs to stop a talented GHA player trying for Super 6, who on a free Saturday is not allowed back to play for GHA. It is also farcical that the Scottish Clubs XV is not allowed to choose 200 players from the club scene!

 

Iain Milne to John F Brown:

Totally correct, this typifies what goes on in club rugby in Scotland. As I’ve said many times it is riddled with self-interest and a lack of vision.

The league structure as it stands at the moment is totally outdated and not suitable for today’s players. Clubs would rather hang on to their beloved National leagues, struggling to full fill fixtures, unable to field a 2nd xv and talk about ambition.

Everyone’s ambition has to get more adult players playing the game, we don’t have a future if we don’t do that. Players of today are our future administrators and volunteers with them there will be no club rugby.

Andy Miller:

Only stage 3 academy players will play for the Glasgow franchise I would have thought; but don't be surprised if they add in Stage 3 players from all over the country to play for the Warriors - some Super6 players are only getting 6 games a year and they need to get the academy boys playing.

It's the nature of the beast now - players have always moved on from the lower league clubs and now we're seeing the same thing happen to the National 1 teams. It's a good thing only if they get game time and then pathway into pro teams but if they don't then you have a much bigger issue in that people just won't play rugby anymore.

Why would you spend all your time training and playing only to see the pro teams buy a pro and you've no chance of playing? Where is the incentive? I wouldn't, and I'm not going to encourage my kids to do that under the current circumstances.

What rugby doesn't realise is that so many other sports have got their act together over the last 10 years so there is lots of competition for bodies. Ever been to a Hockey club? It's a tough game now and the social side is fantastic.

Martial arts is attractive due to UFC - you can get a Black Belt in about 4 years and you don't have to spend nearly as much time training before you get decent - and what is missing in Judo? Decent players at over 100kg. You could take a rugby player at that weight, train him and within 4 years he could be fighting for Scotland. Now, what's more attractive? 4 years playing rugby and never getting a sniff of a pro appearance or 4 years of training, getting a Black Belt and fighting for your country?!

Basketball, cycling all these sports are achieving because they've developed. The other massive competition for rugby is SkySports. Why would I pay 25 quid to go and watch Edinburgh for almost the same price I can sit and watch rugby from Fri night solidly through to Sunday teatime.

And people are still interested in watching rugby. Boroughmuir Bears had 2,500 people at Meggetland for Super6 because it was an experience and affordable.

Clubs can still build as community offerings and incentivise fans but they need to work at it. Gone are the days of just opening the gates and people flood in.

Paul Justice:

I wonder, will these two new teams be subject to the same franchise agreement as the other 6?

Will the two teams be allowed to parachute a back-up team into National 1?

Will the Scotstoun XV be a separate trading entity, and if so, who will own them?

Super 6 franchisees had to guarantee a minimum investment, with Scottish Rugby paying in £137k (I think) - how much will the Scotstoun XV be costing Scottish rugby (including pitch rentals, etc.)?

And don't forget, Super 6 was being funded out of the domestic rugby budget, so guess where the finance for Scotstoun xv is coming from.

Ian Notman to Gavin Blackburn:

Gav they may use the Warriors name but sure it will be the clubs GHA and Hawks that will take the franchise on.

It would mean a wider spread of Stage 3 players and more game time.

Personally I would rather see another Pro team for these youngsters.

Stephen Winter to Ian Notman:

Why would the clubs, GHA & Hawks, take the franchise on?

Ian Notman to Stephen Winter:

Just a suggestion Stephen. It’s obvious that the SRU would want a Glasgow based team.

Hawks tried for a franchise last time so why wouldn’t they try again?

Stephen Winter to Ian Notman:

Take on the franchise and costs but play as Warriors?

Ian Notman response:

Play as any name they want under there own banner. They fund it they call the shots to a certain extent.

John Roxburgh:

First step is to introduce school age youngsters to the fun ethics and discipline of our great game.The player base is not sufficient to maintain our present status across the globe which sadly does not seem to concern the Governing body!!!

AS I said, at the start of this post, some very-interesting, not forgetting varied, opinions on show there. Also, some contributions from leading club officials and guys with a long track record of success in Scottish Rugby.

I have my own ideas on how we should move forward, but , I thought, I should share this Facebook thread and throw it open to the Aristotle family.

Let us know what YOU think, then I will follow-up on this interesting and crucial debate.

Goodbye And Good Luck Dominic McKay

TODAY is a special day for my friends inside the BT Murrayfield Junta. At some point, they will gather, socially-distanced of course, to bid a tearful farewell to one of their own, as Dominic McKay departs for the greater challenge of being CEO of Scotland's second most-successful football team.

 

 

Dom's remit at “The San Giro” will be to restore Ra Sellick to what the Celtic Family demands - to primacy in Scottish Fitba, and enable the faithful to once -more assert that it is indeed: “A Grand Old Team To Play For.”

I wish my old pal Dom all the best in these endeavours, but, as I have already told him, he's moving in among a nest of vipers more-deadly than any he has yet encountered at BTM.

But, as the man I dubbed “Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen” - thanks to his propensity for changing rooms when booked into another five-star hotel on the SRU's expenses account, moves to a new employer, famous for it's “biscuit tin” mentality when it came to matters financial, he leaves behind a major problem for Scottish Rugby.

This is: to which member of The Junta does he bequeath the brain cell?

After all, and this is perhaps to damn with faint praise; Dom was the most-able member of The Junta, and with him gone: “Scotland – we have a problem.”

However, I dare say, and fervently hope, in time, that problem will be solved.

So, adieu and good luck to you Dom. I will miss you, but maybe not as much as Scottish Rugby will. You can send me over a drink some night at Largs Marina.

I WAS in at the start of the Facebook group: WTF Is It About Scottish Rugby. I had a wee fall-out with the founder/administrator, but, after being out in the cold for a wee while, I rejoined rcently.

The group has over 800 members, from across the world of rugby – from former British Lions, via Scottish internationalists, to ordinary club players and members.

Significantly, however, only a handful qualify for what might be termed: “the great and good of Scottish Rugby,” and, on a check of the members' roll this morning, I did not detect a single current SRU Council member. Mind you, one or two might be in there under false names – it wouldn't do at HQ to have TCD find out you are a member of a group which spends a lot of time poking fun at him, questioning his parentage and generally calling for his head.

I used to do that, but, well, I've got better things to do with my time now. I can spend all the time I like pointing out the Great Man's feet of clay, but, for as long as the Councillors and Board Members are prepared to back him, there's not a lot I can do.

WTF does spend a lot of time giving the concerned space in which to point-out, all is not well in Scottish Rugby, but, for as long as the elected officials are happy to stick their noses in the trough and leap up when TCD yells: “Jump,” the situation is not going to change.

Maybe we should evolve into a pressure group, hold the Council members' feet to the fire and demand change – sooner rather than later.

Maybe we could spark some sort of positive reaction when the Governance Review Group finally reports. Hopefully, that will be the catalyst for the changes which are needed.

I must say, however, I do not for one minute think the SRU apparatchiks inside BTM are deliberately cocking things up so-badly. I fear they are doing their best – but, their best isn't all that good.

We maybe need a higher calibre of elected official to keep them heading in the right direction; to question the paid officials' decisions more and to give them the proper direction.

Before I move on, a final wee thought for this post, on WTF. Some of the members have been getting hot and bothered by a piece which my old mate Stephen Jones of The Sunday Times had written, in which he “dissed” Hamish Watson.

Folks – it was an opinion piece. Two things to bear in mind:

1. “Jones the Englishman” - as I have dubbed him, lost the plot some years ago.

2. Opinions are like arseholes – everybody has one.

And finally, he might be bad, but, Jonesie is still better than Stuart Barnes, but not even half as good as David Barnes.

THE OTHER big news this week was the experimental laws variations to be tried-out in the Rainbow Cup. These have been well flagged-up and I am looking forward to seeing how they go.

I would maybe have adapted the “red card rule' slightly. The plan is, any player who is red-carded, can be replaced by another player after 20 minutes – I would have preferred 15.

And I hae ma doots about 'the captain's challenge,' which allows an unhappy captain to call for a review of a contentious decision at some point. The wording of the new initiative makes specific mention of in the final five minutes. Now, I might be a little cynical, but, I can see a team, under the cosh and defending furiously on their own line, being tempted to stop the game and interrupt the momentum of the opposition, by a challenge. If coaches could come up with stratagems such as “Bloodgate,” well, a captain's challenge is an easy one to slot in.

A Stream Of Consciousness With A Sting In The Tail

IN MY last post, I looked at the current situation facing the sharp end of Scottish Rugby. If the situation at the top end of the game is not good, compared to the grass roots – the club game, where all is clearly far from well, everything at the top is wonderful.

One of the biggest problems, to me, is that NOBODY – not even I suspect the SRU themselves – believes so much of what is said in public about our club game.

• Does anyone believe the published playing numbers? I don't?

• Does anyone believe the current set-up is fit for purpose? I don't?

I have been beating this drum for ages, and I have yet to see any evidence to convince me I am wrong – BUT:

• I believe we have too-many “National Leagues and Clubs”

• I believe we need, at club level, to become more DISTRICT orientated.

• I know Districts is a bad, almost verbotten word in BT Murrayfield's corridors of power, but, for me, that's the way to go.

But, and it is indeed sad there has to be a but, the fact is, Rugby Union today is a business, and club rugby at its best is not. The management model for the SRU today, is the same as it has always been – the income from the international matches at BT Murrayfield is what drives the game.

I know there are still some backwoodsmen within the game here who would like us to go back to pure club play, with the best club players being selected for their District side, and the national team selected from these top players.

That isn't going to happen folks – the game has moved-on. Personally, I would prefer us to have a third, full-time professional team, at the very least. But, here again, this isn't going to happen. We need to have full-time players, training and preparing for the PRO14, European Rugby and the step-up to the international game. The club/District model does not allow for this.

Sport, in its purest form, is all about enjoyment. Someone likes to run, or swim, hit a golf or cricket ball, play football or rugby – they will do so, for the sheer joy it brings.

But, humans are naturally competitive. Even if it nothing more than being able to get from the top of the garden to the dinner table faster than their siblings, humans will, from an early age, compete.

That need to compete is catered-for by the formation of sports clubs. Here again the competitive urge comes into play – where one school or village comes together to pit their champions, in their local team, against their rivals down the road.

All this competition means, sport has to have a structure. The clubs join associations of like-minded clubs, who organise that particular sport nationally, and, before we even noticed, we had “the sports industry.”

I am positive those five Victorian gentlemen, the captains of the West of Scotland, Glasgow Academical, Edinburgh Academical, Merchistonians and St Salvator FC (St Andrew's University), had no notion, when they penned their letter to The Scotsman and Bell's Magazine, challenging the Gentlemen of England to a match, under the Rugby rules, exactly what they were starting. That letter was the foundation stone of a global multi-billion pound industry.

One hundred and fifty years later that global industry has seen a growth in professionals within that industry. Now professionals, in whatever field, need to have assistants, advisers, at the most-basic level “gophers,” to do the mundane jobs and let them concentrate on the blue sky thinking and the big decisions.

So, while the professionals, with their mini-empires exist in their bubbles, out in the real world: Wee Jimmy or Janis still wants to play rugby or tennis.

So, in Jimmy's case, Mr Barnes down the road gives up his Sunday mornings to allow Jimmy to learn the basics and fall in love with the game. He begins to enjoy the club atmosphere, where Mr Brown and Mr McHarg guide him and coach him.

He gets noticed by the professionals and onto the elite player development pathway. But, his club is really not that strong, it merely plays in the local regional league and wee Jimmy is “advised,” if he wants to make the best use of his talents, he needs to move.

Maybe he is spotted by a private school, who offer him a scholarship, so he can attend full-time, and enjoy better coaching from the likes of Mr Aitchison. He trains-on, gets national age group honours, and is offered a place in the national Academy. Here is he is assigned to a semi-professional club, and, if he is very lucky, he picks-up a full-time professional contract and, in time, he gets capped by Scotland.

Great for Jimmy, who is now seen regularly on television, and plays in front of full-houses in the Six Nations and other internationals.

When Jimmy started out, his best pals in rugby were wee Jock and big Wullie. They were maybe not as-talented as Jimmy, or as lucky when the talent spotters were sifting through the raw talent.

They stayed with their original club. Paid their subs, got involved in the club's social side, continued to play, trained when they could, within the constraints of work, further education and other commitments.

They love their rugby and the whole ethos of the game.

Rugby ought to cherish Jock and Wullie just as much as Jimmy. OK, he gets treatment, money and nurture his pals back at the club do not. But, they are in it together.

Jimmy's contribution is to play to a level which makes Scotland a team the television companies want to have on-screen. His talent persuades people who are not otherwise involved in the game, to pay good money to watch him in the PRO14 or the Six Nations.

His talent allows the professional sports administrators to run their wee mini-empires and to organise the game.

But it also pays for the central support for the club which first nurtured him and which still looks after Jock and Wullie and the thousands like them.

The professional sports administrators – and more importantly the elected officials from the ordinary clubs who are supposed to oversee their activities – must never forget – they have a duty of care to the club game. Yes, they may obsess with the bottom line and the tiny number of professionals, both playing and non-playing inside the SRU, but, without the ordinary club game, they are nothing.

And the club game must be properly supported and funded – or everything above there crumbles and falls.

Right now, this is not happening. This situation MUST change.

So what are we, the great unwashed in the Scottish Rugby Family, plus the elected officials with their snouts in the game's gravy train, going to do, collectively, to ensure, when we come out of this pandemic – we have a game to go back to. And, a game that works for us all?

Scotland And Failure - A Continuing Rugby Tale

I HAVE been thinking for some time now, we need a step change in how we assess the condition of Scottish Rugby. Clearly, over the entire picture, all is not well. Internationally, Scotland's progress appears to be a long-running case of two steps forward – one step back. At full-time professional level, it's a case of occasional bright intervals, but, mainly more doom and gloom, while the ordinary club game is a classic case of requiring intensive care – which is not being given. But, there again, rugby is not the only sphere of life in Scotland where it's a sair fecht.

So, in writing this post, I did a wee bit of research, starting from what is, in terms of rugby today: Year Zero – 1995. The year everything changed and the game went open.

In 26 seasons of Open Rugby, Scotland has posted just one title – the 1999 Five Nations. Worse, only 7 of those 26 seasons have been winning ones – where they have won more competitive games than they lost. Their average finishing position in the four Five Nations tournaments was third, while their average finishing position in the Six Nations has been fifth.

Since 1996, there have been seven Rugby World Cup competitions, in which Scotland has reached the Quarter-finals five times -their average finishing position over these five tournaments has been seventh.

Our full-time professional sides began to compete regularly in the Scottish-Welsh League in 1999-2000, since then in its various guises: Scottish-Welsh League, Celtic League, PRO12 and PRO14, the Scottish teams' results have been under-whelming.

Glasgow has posted one title win, 1 other appearance in the Grand Final and three semi-final appearances, and has had 14 winning seasons over the 22-season history of league play.

Edinburgh has not fared as well, having only one semi-final appearance to boast about, and a mere four winning seasons out of the 22.

Border Reivers' four seasons of league play produced no winning seasons, a mere 16 wins from 82 games just one season in which they were not in the bottom two in the league table.

These figures are not, however, all bad news. Of the 14 Glasgow winning seasons, nine have been posted over the past ten seasons. This season is not yet over, so, a miracle might happen and winning the new Rainbow Cup might turn things around.

Edinburgh, however, has a long history of under-achieving, which seems set to continue. They have only had two winning seasons in the last decade.

OK, I can accept, everyone wants to see their team winning. Nothing succeeds like success, and the lack of success across Scottish Rugby might be a bit wearing on we fans; however, since winning has only become a habit for Glasgow in the last decade, and still isn't a habit across in Edinburgh – maybe we should re-assess our priorities.

Edinburgh has a long history of playing imports – Kilted Kiwis, South African “project players” plus imports from elsewhere.

Glasgow too has seen its share of non-Scots come and go. Yes, some of these – Leone Nakarawa first time round, Niko Matawalu, certainly, however, the great Glasgow leap forward and its continuation was, I believe, down to Sean Lineen recruiting the best young Scottish talent and letting it flourish, then Gregor Townsend following the Lineen blueprint.

Under Dave Rennie, the pattern changed slightly, but, it is good to see Danny Wilson letting young Scots such as Rufus McLean, James Dobie and Ross Thompson show what they can do.

I have said this before, and will doubtless say this again. There is no relegation from the Guinness PRO14, so, the two clubs can safely blood young Scots and let them sink or swim.

If the fans can be persuaded to buy-into this plan, it will be for the long-term benefit of Scottish Rugby. That said, however, we need change at BT Murrayfield, where some of the decisions on player recruitment and development strike me as having been wrong.

Some young players are given a long time to make their mistakes and mature, while others seem to be case aside far too quickly. That's down to the guys at head office getting it wrong. That needs sorting-out.

There was an example of this just today, with the announcement that Adam Nicol is leaving Glasgow, with immediate effect, to join Jersey Reds.

Nicol has been at Scotstoun for four and a half seasons, making just 18 appearances for the club. I do not know how good a player he is, but, I do know, between four and five appearances per season has in no way helped his personal development.

He is not the first player to be under-played by one or other of our two full-time teams; I wager he will not be the last.

Clearly, to me, the SRU has not looked after our emerging players well enough, and this has been going-on for years. This institutionalised failure needs to be addressed, but, under the current Junta, this will not happen.

Scottish rugby is going nowhere under the current regime, we need a clear-out at BT Murrayfield. But, I am not holding my breath for this to happen.

The Junta Don't Do April Fools - It's A 365-day Business For Them

I HAD toyed with the notion of posting an April Fool this morning. You know, a rugby story which was outrageous, but at the same time, with a hint of truth and reality behind it. However, after due reflection I decided not to, I doubted if I could match the high standard of such press releases, as put out by The Junta and Buddy the Elf and their Media mob.

Speaking of which, a nice one this morning from Edinburgh Rugby, with a story about WP Nel changing his name to P & P Nel, to tie-in with the club's principal sponsor, Principal & Prosper. I detect the hand of Stuart Rutherford, the Edinburgh Media Manager behind this. It reeks of the sort of left field move his distinguished father John Rutherford would pull out of the bag for Selkirk, Scotland, the Barbarians and The Lions.

SO, Back to Maverick, and an interesting wee quote which I came across in the online edition of The Sydney Morning Herald. Speaking of the current travails of the New South Wales Rugby Union, who among other issues to be dealt with, are looking for a new Head Coach for the Waratahs, we learned:

“Of the 20 issues they’ve got, 15 ain’t coaching. Think about governance, pathways, talent ID, contracting, use of cap spend, succession planning of lists and the people responsible for that.”

So, the SRU is not the only governing body getting pelters from the media.

Elsewhere, online, we learned that the Irish Rugby Football Union, to give them their full title, had refused Munster permission to sign South African star Pieter-Steph Du Toit as a direct replacement for the now-retired CJ Stander.

So, the SRU is clearly not the only Union looking to buy South African talent. The difference is, Munster were trying to shop in Harrods, while the Junta prefers Poundstretcher.

I HAVE never hidden my belief that Dominic McKay is the Junta member in possession of the brain cell. This was confirmed this week when, in his valedictory act as Chairman of the Guinness PRO14, Oor Dom gave the annual Chairman's Award to the Championship Medical Advisory Group.

Announcing the award, Dom said:

"Summing up the contribution made by our Medical Advisory Group is very simple – without them we would not have been able to kick a ball during this pandemic. Club rugby, and indeed the Guinness PRO14, had to set a high standard when elite sports returned to the field last summer and the protocols and guidance provided to us by the doctors and medical leads at our unions were responsible for keeping players, coaches, match officials and everyone at our stadiums as safe as possible.

“At no point did our Medical Advisory Group take their foot off the pedal. Throughout this pandemic they have been at the leading edge of our medical wing, with so many of our staff feeding into them in trying circumstances where so much has been co-ordinated remotely. The success in returning club rugby to the pitch opened the door for Test matches and international competition – events that only increased the workload for our medics.

“I am privileged to acknowledge the efforts of Dr Vincenzo Ieracitano, Dr Rod McLoughlin, Dr James Robson, Dr Michael Dunlop, Dr Clint Readhead and Dr Prav Mathema as a very small token of gratitude to themselves and to their colleagues. I would encourage anyone who has been heartened by watching our clubs and countries in the past six months to pass on their thanks to the medical teams around the sport, including those I have mentioned. In a team game it is near impossible to think of a group of people who have contributed more to the success of safely returning to the field and staying there.”

Well said Dominic.

SPEAKING OF the PRO14, I am not going to indulge in the renting of garments, wailing and gnashing of teeth, because our two full-time teams failed to get into next season's Heineken Cup.

Shite happens, more often than not to Scottish sport, so, we put it down to yet more bitter experience. I actually feel, a season in the second tier in Europe might well benefit the young plaeyrs on whom we are going to have to depend moving forward.

Looking ahead, beyond the wee European break we have coming, I am hopeful of good things from the new Rainbow Cup, which will finish-up this disjointed Season 2020-21.

A good performance in this from one or both sides, would leave us looking ahead positively to next season. With that competition due to keep us busy until well into June, and the chance of an early start to the FOSROC Super6, and maybe some summer club play, the Lions Tour might not be the only rugby we have to interest us in the coming few months.

Regarding the Super6, there is much interest in who will get the Ayrshire Bulls coaching gig, now that Peter Murchie has been promoted to the Glasgow Warriors' coaching staff.

Apparently, the Glasgow Rugby Rumour Mill is awash with tales of Finn Gillies being lined-up for that one.

Being of limited intelligence and prone to opening my mouth at the wrong time, I put that rumour to Bulls' COO Glenn Tippett. Well, he didn't hit me, merely saying enigmatically: “Hm! Interesting.” They don't give much away in Taranaki, or in Alloway.

I will take Tipps' response as: “No comment.”