We Need To End The Clan Warfare Over Super Rugby

I HONESTLY do not know what is happening with the ongoing overhaul of Scottish Rugby governance, but, we need answers and action, sooner rather than later, before the game is caught-up in a full-blown modern version of clan warfare.

To avert this we need to sort things out, decide how we are to move forward, and start moving, or we will be going backwards faster than the best rowing eight.

I say this after being in the epicentre of an online rammy this week, caused by some people's implacable opposition to Super6. Yes, just as there has been since the move was first mooted, opponents of S6. But, it has happened, S6 is here to stay until at least 2024, and probably longer given they totally lost one of the original five season.

By then, I have no doubt, S6 will become S8, or perhaps S10 and will be so-established efforts to scrap it and resort to the amateur-era status of clubs, then Districts, leading to the Scotland team will, as they should, fail.

The Luddites who want S6 scrapped have been objecting strongly to S6, on the spurious grounds that Ayrshire Bulls have recruited from beyond Scotland's boundaries, while Stirling County have been raiding the Irish provincial academies in their search for new talent.

I raised the subject of Bulls' recruitment policies with Glen Tippet, Bulls' Chief Operating Officer. He is sorry that his franchise had to go down this particular recruiting road, but, as he said: “We would rather recruit Scottish players, but, we cannot find enough of the right calibre, so we have to go down this road. I am confident the guys we have brought in will help raise the standards of the local guys, but, I should point-out, 44% of the Bulls' roster has an Ayr club connection. We do not only recruit from abroad.”

Pink & Black, the excellent Ayr club newsletter, in the latest edition, which came out on Wednesday, lists the 27 players in the current Bulls squad – the Academy players in the squad, such as Gregor Townsend's son Christian, are not listed.

The breakdown of these 27 players shows:

• Developed via the Ayr club system – 11 players

• Imports – 9 players

• Recruited from other Scottish clubs – 5

• Former full-time professionals – 2

Robbie Nairn, one of the two former Glasgow Warriors recruited, has, it should be noted, played more games for Ayr or the Bulls than for Warriors.

It should also be noted, the 2021-22 Bulls squad has had to replace five former Bulls have moved on to professional contracts: Sam Kitchen (now back in Australia), Ollie Smith, Marshall Sykes, Kyle Rowe and Ross Thompson. They also have to replace long-serving scrum-half David Armstrong, who is believed to be preparing to wind down his playing career back at Stewartry, and former Scotland cap Gordy Reid, who is believed to be moving to Marr.

I honestly do not see where they could recruit replacements for the likes of big Gordy and David Armstrong from Scottish club ranks, which partially-explains the imports.

Bulls are copping the majority of the flak at the moment, but, you will surely see the other five franchises also recruiting from beyond these shores.

And, for those being holier-than-thou, never forget, Scottish clubs have been recruiting from overseas for years - “Kilted Kiwi” is not a new tag.

Also, let's not hear tales of the S6 franchises poaching players from other clubs – this has been going-on for ever. I recall, when I was first getting into writing about rugby in the late 1960s, Bill McMurtrie in the Herald was writing about: “the drove road from Ayrshire to Burnbrae.”

I remember West XVs which contained Ayrshiremen who were Scotland caps, such as Peter and Gordon Brown, David Shedden, Brian Gossman, Jimmy Gossman, David Gray and Quinton Dunlop. West too recruited B caps and Glasgow players such as Alec Wilson, Ian Gray, Sandy Service, Ian Murchie, and David Good. Neil Scott, from my own Cumnock club, moved up to West and thrived, as did some former Marr players.

Backwoodsmen at other clubs have long resentedc their better players being attracted to Ayr. But, for the short time Kilmarnock were a force in the land – and it is a pity that club has since fallen back, players from the likes of Ardrossan, Garnock, Irvine, Marr, Carrick and Cumnock were drawn to Bellsland.

Ambitious players have always moved clubs, some on their own, convinced they could make it, while some were “encouraged” to move. If you're good enough, you will get noticed for age group teams, but, if you really want to make it – you are more or less told to move.

Up until S6 was started, that meant when you were in the system, the SRU advised you where to move to, now, you will be pointed towards one of the franchises. Some National League clubs don't like this. Well tough, either upgrade your own youth system, or, improve your external recruitment. But, be prepared to lose some of your best players to clubs above you in the food chain. That's the way of rugby life.

Regular readers of this blog will be aware, I am a great admirer of the North American professional sports, and how they are organised. I believe rugby in this country could benefit from something like the American baseball system.

There, the 30 Major League baseball teams all have associated minor league teams, through which they develop the young talent which comes out of the vibrant high school and college baseball systems.

When we go to Super10, there is no reason why we could not have a similar system in Scottish rugby, with the ten super clubs having a number of local league clubs as associate/feeder clubs, with a limited number of players each season moving between the two strands – so much cleaner and more-organised than what we have now.

Doing things the way we did them in the 19^th and 20^th century will not cut it in the 21^st. We need to think differently. Super rugby is one such difference, battling against the forces of ultra-conservatism which have always held sway in Scotland.

More On The Future Face Of Scottish Rugby

I HAVE to answer some points which arose from yesterday's post – regarding Super Rugby or a return to Districts.

I begin with a Facebook post from Bill Faulds, who wrote:

“I don’t get you and your obsession with Clubs playing in Regional Leagues.

If we ignore, from above:

1/ the complete lack of progression that would be available under your scenario for most Clubs.

2/ where we’ll get another 50-140 players to populate these extra 2-4 ‘Super’ sides.

And just challenge your ‘Regional’ Leagues idea:

• how many leagues?

• how many teams are going to populate these 4…. 5….. 6 leagues and show me how mixing current Prem teams with current Nat 3 and current Regional sides would, in any way be competitive or interest generating?

I’m used to the ex Public School lads who live in Glasgow or Edinburgh being keen on local leagues. But amongst most of us, the great unwashed, I’ve not heard it pushed.

How does Regional help Caithness, Orkney, Highland, Newton Stewart, Stewartry ?”

Right, as I demonstrated a couple of posts back, 70% of the clubs who had 'National League status' when the SR|U formed the official leagues in 1973 are still “National League Clubs' today. Only Stirling County and Currie of the current top clubs were not NL clubs 48 years ago. Bill writes about “a lack of progression,” there has been precious little real progression in the past half century.

Sure, some clubs have been blessed with a good crop of players of a similar age; on the back of this, they climbed through the ranks, but, only Curie and County consolidated once they got to the top – the others fell back.

[I now go off-piste somewhat, but bear with me. The most-successful professional team sports in the world in terms of money-making are in the USA's major leagues – MLB, MLR, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL. There, the governing body franchises teams and once you are in, your place is ring-fenced, the cake is evenly divided. Occasionally, a league might expand, in which case certain criteria must be met, before a new franchise is awarded. This protects the integrity of the league, as does the annual draft, whereby the weakest team gets first pick of the new talent.]

I am not saying the American model is perfect, but, it is catching on elsewhere. The new United Rugby Championship is a ring-fenced competition. The RFU is ring-fencing The Gallagher Premiership. Super Rugby in the Southern Hemisphere is, to a degree, ring-fenced.

Take away the threat of relegation and teams are encouraged to play with a bit more freedom, to entertain rather than play for the right result.

That is what is happening in Super6. I believe we should expand this. Let's go to Super10, ASAP. Ten franchised Super clubs, each limited to a 35-man squad, adds up to 350 players, approximately 3% of the adult male players in Scotland.

Ten Super clubs would account for roughly 7% of the clubs active in league play in Scotland – these would be elite clubs, attracting the best of our players who were not full-time professionals.

I honestly believe, having, as now, more than 40 'National League Clubs' is too-many. Forty clubs, each with a 35-man first team squad, adds up to 13% of the playing population. I suggest there simply are not that many players good enough for that status.

But, de-pressurise these players into playing in more Regional Leagues and I would suggest they would enjoy their rugby more. No more 275-mile round trips (Berwick to Strathmore in NL3), or 320-mile round trips (Moffat to Lochaber, West Regional Division 3), and I think the game as a whole would flourish.

In his Facebook post – Bill asked: “How does Regional help Caithness, Orkney, Highland, Newton Stewart, Stewartry ?”

It helps in this way Bill. The clubs would not have to budget for really long trips, more-regionalised play would further enhance local rivalries. Former foes would turn up to spectate when their clubs met, rather more-easily than when the their clubs were playing opponents from further away.

I am very much a rugby man of the West, look at my own Region.

In the West we have:

• 1 – Super6 team – Ayrshire Bulls

• 3 – Premiership clubs – GHA, Glasgow Hawks, Marr

• 3 – National League 1 clubs – Ayr, Biggar, Cartha-Queen's Park

• 6 – National League 2 clubs – Dumfries Saints, GHK, Glasgow Academical, Hamilton, Newton Stewart, Whitecraigs

• 4 National League 3 clubs – Ardrossan Academicals, Greenock Wanderers, Hillhead-Jordanhill, West of Scotland

• 10 – West Division 1 clubs – Allan Glen's, Annan, Cambuslang, East Kilbride, Garnock, Irvine, Kilmarnock, Lenzie, Stewartry, Strathendrick

• 10 - West Division 2 clubs – Clydebank, Cumnock, Dalziel, Helensburgh, Oban Lorne, Paisley, Strathaven, Uddingston, Waysiders-Drumpellier, Wigtownshire

• 12 – West Division 3 clubs – Birkmyre, Bishopton, Clydesdale, Cumbernauld, Cowal, GUM. Hyndland, Lanark, Lochaber, Loch Lomond,Moffat, Shawlands

That's 48 clubs. Assuming the planned expansion from Super6 to Super10, one of GHA or Hawks will move up to be one of the Super franchises, that will still, however, leave 48 clubs in the Region. Just as Ayrshire Bulls plays in S6, Ayr plays in NL1. The same situation would apply to whichever club gets the Glasgow Super Rugby franchise.

We MUST by the way, resist any Murrayfield-led plan to form a new Super club in Glasgow, directly tied to Warriors.

How to properly divide the 48 clubs up into workable leagues then becomes the problem.

Since there are currently 16 National League clubs – I would suggest they play in a one league, two conference system, similar to the URC. Each club would play the other seven clubs in their conference home and away, and would play one game against each of the eight clubs in the other conference; giving a 22-game league season. The top four clubs in each conference could then play a knock-out tournament to settle which is the Champion club.

The remaining 32 clubs could then play in four District Leagues, organised on a geographic basis. For instance:

• South West Division: Annan, Cumnock, Garnock, Irvine, Kilmarnock, Moffat, Stewartry, Wigtownshire.

• Lanarkshire Division: Cambuslang, Clydesdale, Dalziel, East Kilbride, Lanark, Strathaven, Uddingston, Waysiders-Drumpellier

• Greater Glasgow and Renfrewshire Division: Allan Glen's, Birkmyre, Bishopton, GUM, Hyndland, Lenzie, Paisley, Shawlands

• North-Western Division: Clydebank, Cumbernauld, Cowal, Helensburgh, Lochaber, Loch Lomond, Oban Lorne, Strathendrick.

Bring back local cup com petitions for the various leagues – each Regional League team would then have 14 league games, plus local cup ties. We could even bring back the Glasgow & District Knock-out Cup to provide further games.

If similar competition models were followed in the other Regions, there would be enough club rugby to go round. I can even see representative Inter-Regional rugby, featuring the best of the Four Regional Leagues, and Junior Inter-Regional rugby for the District League clubs. That way, clubs at a higher level could see the best talent playing each other, and this would help sort-out which players might be worth taking a chance on at a higher level.

Not every club has the infrastructure, or even the desire to advance up through the leagues. Give the clubs a chance to play meaningful games, against near-by clubs and have fun, and they would be very happy, as would the players be. In fact, we might expect, under this more-localised system, see player numbers rise.

Finally, an apology to Rangi Jericevich, who I mis-quoted in my last post. Ramngi's point was that six of the eight Scottish Lions had Played in the Premiership, he was not suggesting they had sorely been developed in that league.

 

Why The Case For Districts Doesn't Stack Up

 

I HAVE been meaning for some time to respond to Rangi Jericevich's recent article in The Offside Line, in which he expands on the Motion which his club, GHA is putting before the SRU's annual meeting, which calls for the re-introduction of an Inter-District competition, to replace the FOSROC Super6 as the top level of the club game.

The biggest problem I can see with that idea is – Super6 is not the highest level of the club game in Scotland, it is the lowest level of Performance Rugby in Scotland.

In a typical piece of Dodson bluster, TCD originally sold S6 as a “club” competition – everyone and his mother knew this was never the case. Had it been a club competition, there would have to have been an S6 representative on the SRU Council; this has never happened, the S6 clubs have always dealt directly with the Performance Department.

The reasoning behind S6 is this. The economics/financial model for Scottish rugby is:

1. The main cash-generator for Scottish rugby is the national team. Scotland generates the biggest income in terms of gates, television income and sponsorship.

2. Below that comes the two full-time professional teams, Edinburgh and Glasgow, playing in the United Rugby Championship.

3. Below that comes Super6. The two URC teams are there to ready players for the international game. Similarly, the six S6 clubs are there to ready their semi-professional players for full-time professional play.

There is insufficient interest/money in rugby in Scotland to make the two URC teams and the six S6 teams self-funding. They need SRU subsidy, the price of that subsidy is, to a degree they have to put their own self-interest second to the wider interest of the SRU, as the managers of the game.

That is why S6 has to be franchised, for the greater good of the game, minimum standards have to be applied, the SRU cannot risk an outlier club coming into the top flight and disrupting the minimum standards set.

Any system is only as good as its weakest member. A look at the following chart might explain how S6 came about. It covers the six seasons of Premiership play, seasons 2013-14 to 2018-19:

Ayr – 6 seasons – total points won 397 – average 66 per season

Melrose – 6 seasons – 393 points – average 65 per season

Heriot's – 6 seasons – 353 points – average 59 per season

Currie – 6 seasons – 323 points – average 54 per season

Watsonians – 3 seasons – 151 points – average 50 per season

Gala – 4 seasons – 168 points – average 42 per season

Boroughmuir – 5 seasons – 194 points – average 39 per season

Glasgow Hawks – 6 seasons – 226 points – average 38 per season

Stirling County – 6 seasons – 214 points – average 36 per season

Edinburgh Academical – 2 seasons – 73 points – average 36 per season

Hawick – 6 seasons – 203 points – average 34 per season

Marr - 1 season – 29 points

Aberdeen Grammar – 1 season – 23 points

Selkirk – 1 season – 9 points

OK, let's acknowledge straight away – Currie were royally fucked by the bidding process. In every facet of the thing, except facilities, they were better than at least two of the clubs who did get in.

In the six seasons covered, the maximum available points each season was 90 (winning all 18 games with a try bonus). Only five of the 14 clubs involved won more than 50% of the available points – four of them got franchises, so, the cream rose to the top and was largely recognised. Giving SRU money to where it can best benefit the Union's management model has to be the Union's way to go.

Going back to the old system, doesn't make sense given how the Union wants to run things – so a return to Districts doesn't look clever.

Now, let's look at the top players – the guys whose efforts keep the turnstyles clicking, the TV companies interested and the sponsors on-board.

In his TOL piece, Rangi Jericevich made much of the fact, six of the eight Scottish players in the British & Irish Lions squad in South Africa “came through the old Premiership.”

True enough Rangi, except, a closer look at where they came from shows:

• Rory Sutherland – product of the Hawick system

• Zander Fagerson – top rugby-playing school to the Pathway

• Hamish Watson – Scotland-qualified programme – Leicester Tigers Academy

• Ali Price – Scotland-qualified programme – Bedford Blues

• Finn Russell – Stirling County programme to the Pathway

• Duhan van der Merwe – South African Project Player

• Chris Harris – Scotland-qualified programme – Newcastle Falcons Academy

• Stuart Hogg – product of the Hawick system.

In actual fact, only the two Teris came through an old-fashioned club system, with Hawick.

I have identified 54 already-capped Scottish players currently playing in one of the three main European leagues: the URC, Top 14 and Gallagher Premiership.

The breakdown of where they came from into professional rugby is:

• SRU Player Pathway – 23 players – 44%

• Scotland-Qualified programme – 13 players – 24.5%

• Scottish Clubs – 9 players – 17%

• South African projects – 4 players – 7.5%

• Kilted Kiwis – 4 players – 7.5%

• Kilted Australians – 3 players – 5.6%

Only nine of the 54 capped players came out of the club game. Most of them, the likes of Fraser Brown, Stuart McInally, Grant Stewart, Matt Scott and Jamie Bhatti had been on the Pathway, but had been cut at some point, only to fight their way back.

If we look at the 74 players on the combined Edinburgh/Glasgow rosters, we find the following sources:

• SRU Player Pathway – 32 players – 43%

• Not Scotland-Qualified – 10 players – 13.5%

• Scotland-Qualified programme – 9 players – 12.2%

• Clubs – 7 players – 9.5|%

• Kilted Australians – 6 players – 8.1%

• Kilted Kiwis – 5 players – 6.75%

• South African project players – 5 players – 6,75%

Again, as with the capped list, most of the 7 clubs players had been on the Pathway, been cut and fought back.

So, the hard fact is, if you're playing your club rugby in Scotland and don't get onto the Player Pathway as a teenager, you have very little chance of getting back if you are cut. I don't say, no chance, but simply a very-slim one.

I am not privy to the thoughts of Jim Mallinder and the SRU Performance Department, but, I don't think they would be too-keen on a return to District play at adult level. It would mean a lot of work, time and expense, to locate very few diamonds who had been missed first time round.

However, I can see a way whereby District games could play a part in how we take Scottish rugby forward.

We accept, the SRU wants to expand Super6 to Super10 – we make this happen. Below that, however, we have the ordinary club game, within which there is a presumption of purely amateur play – i.e. nobody gets paid. (OK, rugby is an “open” game, the SRU cannot outlaw players being paid, but, if they are being paid at club level, then the payments are declared and obvious).

This ordinary club game is regionalised, to cut costs and encourage local rivalries as a means of driving-up standards. However, at the end of each season, we encourage local cup competitions, such as a revival of the old County cups and the likes of the Glasgow & District Knock-Out Cup.

We also introduce inter-district games for the best of the club players, thus allowing the S10 clubs and the Performance Department to identify players who maybe slipped through the net at the Pathway stage, or were late developers.

Sorry Rangi – I don't see a return to Districts any time soon.

Scottish Club Rugby - Plus Ca Change

THERE HAS been much talk this week about the future of Scottish Rugby and what the club game will look like going forward. We had the SRU announcing their strategy moving forward and recovering from the Covid pandemic, while in the columns of The Offside Line – now unquestionably Scotland's leading platform for rugby – we have had interesting pieces from Rangi Jericevich of GHA and former Scotsman Rugby Correspondent David Ferguson.

Well, here's part one of my take on things, in which I start by going backwards, to the start of league rugby, on 6 October, 1973. Back then, 48 years ago, the brand new National Leagues lined-up thus:

Division One	Division Two	Division Three	Division Four
BOROUGHMUIR	ABERDEEN GRAMMAR	ALLAN GLEN'S FP	ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY
EDINBURGH WANDERERS	AYR	BROUGHTON FP	ARDROSSAN ACADEMICALS
GALA	DUNFERMLINE	GLASGOW UNIVERSITY	CLARKSTON
GLASGOW ACADEMICALS	EDINBURGH ACADEMICAL	GORDONIANS	DUNDEE HSFP
GLASGOW HSFP	EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY	KELVINSIDE ACADEMICALS	GREENOCK WANDERERS
HAWICK	HILLHEAD HSFP	KILMARNOCK	HADDINGTON
HERIOT'S	HUTCHESON'S GSFP	LEITH ACADEMICALS	HIGHLAND
JORDANHILL	JED-FOREST	MUSSELBURGH	HOWE OF FIFE
LANGHOLM	KELSO	OLD GRAMMARIANS	KIRKCALDY
MELROSE	ROYAL HSFP	PERTHSHIRE	MADRAS COLLEGE FP
WATSONIANS	STEWART'S-MELVILLE FP	TRINITY ACADEMICALS	MARR
WEST OF SCOTLAND	SELKIRK		PANMURE

When league rugby resumes on 4 September, the National Leagues line-up will be:

Premiership	National One	National Two	National Three
ABERDEEN GRAMMAR	AYR	DUNFERMLINE	ARDROSSAN ACADEMICALS
CURRIE CHIEFTAINS	BIGGAR	FALKIRK	BERWICK
EDINBURGH ACADEMICAL	CARTHA-QUEEN'S PARK	GHK	GREENOCK WANDERERS
GHA	DUNDEE HSFP	GLASGOW ACADEMICALS	HILLHEAD-JORDANHILL
GLASGOW HAWKS	GALA	GORDONIANS	HOWE OF FIFE
HAWICK	HERIOT'S BLUES	HAMILTON	LASSWADE
JED-FOREST	HIGHLAND	KIRKCALDY	MURRAYFIELD WANDERERS
MARR	KELSO	NEWTON STEWART	PERTHSHIRE
MUSSELBURGH	MELROSE	PEEBLES	STRATHMORE
SELKIRK	STIRLING COUNTY WOLVES	PRESTON LODGE	WEST OF SCOTLAND
		STEWART'S-MELVILLE FP
		WHITECRAIGS

Back in 1973, we had 47 “National League clubs,” playing in four divisions. This year we have 42 “National League clubs” still playing in four divisions.

We have lost the three university sides, who now direct their attentions to the UK-wide British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) competitions. In addition amalgamations have done for some other clubs: Hutcheson's GSFP and Clarkston are now GHA, Hillhead High School FP and Jordanhill have combined too. Glasgow Accies and GHK – already an amalgamation of Glasgow High School FP and Kelvinside Academicals briefly combined to form Glasgow Hawks, before some of the backwoodsmen either side of the Anniesland hedge decided they preferred to be separate clubs again.

Any way, this has led us to today's situation whereby 33 of the 47 NL clubs of 1973 still have a presence in the National Leagues today – a survival rate of 70%. I have highlighted the surviving clubs in red in the second table above. Hawks, I outlined in purple since they were the outcome of an amalgamation, since superceded.

Fourteen clubs have fought their way up from the District Leagues of 48 years ago. Currie has risen highest, advancing from the Edinburgh District League to the Premiership. Stirling County Wolves have gone from playing friendlies to National League One – although, we must remember, the Wolves are the second team at Bridgehaugh, the County first team is one of the six FOSROC Super6 franchises, along with Ayrshire Bulls (Ayr), Boroughmuir, Heriot's, Southern Knights (Melrose) and Watsonians.

Cartha-Queen's Park is now an NL1 club, whereas, back in 1973 the then separate Cartha and Queen's Park clubs were in Division V West of the new leagues – one tier down from a truly national league. A further nine clubs: Falkirk, Hamilton, Newton Stewart (who didn't exist in 1973), Peebles, Preston Lodge and Whitecraigs, all of National League 2 and Berwick, Lasswade and Strathmore of National League 3, have risen through the ranks to today's higher status.

But, whereas these are success stories, spare a thought for Langholm, original members of Division One, Allan Glen's, Broughton, Kilmarnock, Leith Academicals, Old Grammarians and Trinity Academicals of the original Division Three, plus Haddington, Madras College FP and Panmure, of the foundation Division Four, all of whom have fallen on harder times and are now playing in the regional leagues.

Mind you, that 70% survival rate over 48 years might persuade the casual observer that predestination, that old Presbytirian tenet, so beloved of the likes of Burns' Holy Wullie, actually still holds firm in 21^st century Scottish rugby.

If I was connected to any of the clubs in National Leagues 2 and 3, I'd be enjoying this status while my club still enjoyed it – because, if fear your days of basking in National league status may be short.

After he announced the SRU's strategy for the next three years, earlier this week, TCD sat down with the press and answered some pointed questons. I refer readers to David Barnes' excellent piece on this Q & A in The Offside Line, particularly section 6, wherein The Great Leader discusses the future of Super6.

Clearly Super8 is coming, with the smart money on a Glasgow franchise and London Scottish getting involved to join the six existing franchises. But, TCD also speculates, saying: “The ecosystem has got to expand. We’re looking at Super8, probably Super10, even Super12 as it gets stronger and stronger. It depends on depth of talent and economics. Once you have a broadcaster in place you’ll find there’s a natural acceleration of how that competition is perceived by the public.”

Two or three paragraphs on, he added: “Maybe Super6 will be the model with more than one league, with a second division. I don’t know. It’s not meant to disenfranchise, it’s meant to show the standards that’s required to be a performance path.”

There you have it, Murrayfield thinking. Maybe five or ten years down the line, we could see two divisions of semi-professional Super Rugby, under-pinning the fully-professional game. Below that would be the club game, which the SRU sees as being strictly amateur.

Suppose the Super second division includes one team in Aberdeen, one in Dundee, one in Greater Glasgow, at least a couple in the Borders, maybe Highland, that's going to take a huge chunk out of the National Leagues, might the amateur clubs left be better off playing in regionalised competitions?

If that was the case – then you are making a case for District representative teams, if only to allow the franchised Super Rugby teams assess the quality of the players at a lower level whom they maybe missed first time round.

Mind you, I sense self-interest being behind the support for a return to District games. If the alternative to being a third or fourth tier National League team is a down-grade to a Regional team, then some clubs, with fading delusions of grandeur will still want to cling on to National League status – and if a return to the Districts brings that about, they are all for it.

Another reason we are given for bringing back the Districts is a belief that somehow we will, by ditching Super Rugby for a return to Districts – bring the big name players back to the club game.

Rubbish! Ok, back in the day, British Lions such as Gordon Brown, Andy Irvine, the Hastings brothers and “Semmit and Drawers” or John Rutherford and Roy Laidlaw would be seen playing for their clubs.

Today, if Rory Sutherland was to be named in a Hawick team, Zander Fagerson named at tight-head for Glasgow Hawks or Ali Price playing scrum-half for Ayr, the wails of anguish and cries of “unfair” from potential opponents would be deafening.

The other clubs don't want to see otherwise idle Super6 players turning out for their parent club's “Club XV” in NL1 – so they are not going to allow full-time professionals to do this, are they?

We are facing a major change in how Scottish Rugby operates. When, I don't know, but, it will be sooner rather than later. Some clubs will win out of it, others will lose. It is coming, but, I can guarantee, a return to District play, as we understood it in the past – ain't going to happen.

I will be commenting further on this issue in the days and weeks to come.

Once again, apologies for the shite show of the two tables. They look ok when I preview the post, but, when I hit publish, they come outas the mess you see above. I've tried everything I know, but, cannot get them to display properly. And yes, it has already been pointed out, I've left-out Boroughmuir and Watsonians from the 2021 table. A rush of shite to the brain is my only excuse.