THE HERALD REPORTS

KEVIN FERRIE March 01 2006

Scotland's leading clubs will meet with the SRU hierarchy at Murrayfield tonight in a bid to work out whether they should have a role in developing elite players.
Andy Irvine, SRU president, Gordon McKie, Murrayfield chief executive, Frank Hadden, Scotland coach, Iain Paxton, the national under-21 coach, and Peter Wright, his under-19 counterpart, have been invited by the Premier One Forum to discuss three key issues which will govern the relationship between Premier One clubs and the professional game.
These are:
Strengthening the club game at Premier One level
Providing the best possible environment for Scottish youngsters to develop
Putting together a meaningful fixture list that will best address the needs of both
The overhaul of the game's governance has been quickly followed by astonishing on-field success this season and the SRU is therefore in its strongest negotiating position for many years at a time when the clubs are feeling particularly vulnerable.
With only champions Glasgow Hawks and second-placed Watsonians mathematically safe from relegation before last weekend the self-interest that has blighted the club game has re-emerged lately in the form of the inevitable self-interested calls to scrap plans to reduce next season's BT Premier One to 10 clubs and reinstate 12 or even 14 teams.
This reminder of precisely why some of those championing such proposals could never have been trusted with driving forward the professional game comes as the SRU looks for ways to prepare potential professional players.
It is widely accepted that the Premiership fails in that regard and Hadden, Paxton and Wright believe there is a need to focus on developing powerful academy teams as the main feeder sides to the Border Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners and Glasgow Warriors pro teams.
Taking that route is bitterly opposed by most club administrators, but as one of the more visionary among them acknowledged yesterday that any extension of Premier One would only dilute talent further, forcing the SRU down the academy route.
"This is certainly not the time of the season to be debating the size of next season's league, particularly with so many currently in relegation trouble. Not only is it unethical, if we don't grasp the opportunity to reduce the size of Premier One then I, for one, will be wondering whether there's any point," he admitted.

This article was posted on 1-Mar-2006, 07:46 by Hugh Barrow.