THE HERALD REPORTS

KEVIN FERRIE, Chief Rugby Writer March 28 2006

Hugh Campbell will be sacked as Glasgow Warriors coach today, with his assistants, Sean Lineen and Shade Munro, taking over the running of the side until the end of the season.
Campbell was summoned to Murrayfield yesterday afternoon and Gordon McKie, the SRU's chief executive, is expected to confirm those changes at a press conference at Whitecraigs this morning.
Last weekend brought a major setback for Scottish professional rugby as the Warriors, Edinburgh Gunners and Border Reivers all lost their Celtic League matches, just a week after the national side had achieved its best Six Nations Championship finish to date.
That added significance to the announcement late last night that McKie was to hold a press conference to discuss the future of the three teams. Former Scotland A coach Campbell, who was part of the management team that guided the national side to the final Five Nations Championship title in 1999, has been under particular pressure during this third season in the post after having to take on additional administrative responsibility when the pro teams' chief executives were sacked last summer.
Friday's lacklustre display as his side slumped to a 10th Celtic League defeat in 14 outings seems to have confirmed his fate, but for some time it had been expected that he would not be in charge next season.
The Warriors also failed miserably in the Heineken European Cup, losing their first five pool matches before saving some face with a handsome win over Bourgoin in their final match. That was among a series of striking victories: they also beat Munster home and away when the Irish side were league leaders both times, and thrashed the Gunners to claim their only derby win of the season in December.
However, those performances only reinforced the impression that the players have the quality to perform but that something is lacking in terms of motivation, organisation or both. Speculation has been growing since The Herald revealed in January that senior SRU management were considering a reshuffle that might bring changes at all three professional teams, with Lineen promoted to head coach at the Warriors and Steve Bates moving from the Borders to Edinburgh. Indications since are that Bates wants to stay in the Borders but concern has been such that senior Glasgow players are understood to have made representations to Murrayfield management outlining their concerns.
Their captain, Jonny Petrie, also issued what amounted to a blistering attack on everyone in the organisation following their defeat by Neath-Swansea Ospreys at Old Anniesland in January.
That seemed to have had an effect – they created a piece of history by becoming the first Scottish side to beat Munster in Limerick – but they then lost badly at home to the Borders in a vital match in the race for places in next season's European Cup, before Friday's latest sub-standard performance.

This article was posted on 28-Mar-2006, 06:57 by Hugh Barrow.