THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS
Build bridges and fans will come, insists Stirling
DAVID FERGUSON
NOW THAT we know the "who" of the SRU's first bold bid to hand over control of professional rugby, the attention has turned to the "how".

They are enthusiastic "rugby men" passionate about this first opportunity presented by the game's governing body to invest in and run a team, but how will Edinburgh's new owners/management team succeed where the SRU have failed, and enliven professional rugby in Scotland's capital city? Alex Carruthers, the executive chairman, was the face of Edinburgh in July, willingly fronting the media conferences, but the real hard-edged business decisions will come from the managing director's office. Graeme Stirling is the man Alex and his brother Bob have installed there.

A Fifer living in Glasgow, he is not the same Graeme Stirling that played for Stewart's-Melville, as was claimed elsewhere, and insists he has no great playing pedigree. But, with an infectious enthusiasm, and permanent smile born possibly of years in "human resources" departments, he said the intoxication of rugby was what drove him to leave the drinks industry and accept an offer from former schoolmate Bob Carruthers to move into professional sports management.

Kirkcaldy High School introduced him to the sport, Broughton, Glasgow Southern and now the GHA Gazelles - "an over-35s bunch of reprobates more like over-45s these days" - have sustained the 46-year-old back-rower, while a heavy involvement with minis and under-15s coaching refreshes and nurtures it on a weekly basis.

"When you have that love of something, something that is part of your life, it's great to get an opportunity to be involved at the sharp end to feel you can help shape how professional rugby moves forward in Scotland," he said.

"The timescale has been short - it's only a matter of weeks since we started talking seriously - but I have faith in this and the men I'm working with. We share very common objectives; we're not in this for celebrity or status. We're guys involved in rugby, who have come and watched Scotland play, suffered over the years, bemoaned the state of the game and how things could be better. So, there's an element, I suppose, of us putting our money where our mouths are in terms of influencing and developing the game."

How much money is available - the big issue - remains under wraps, with Stirling saying only: "Gordon McKie is not daft; he's not a man I could see being duped. He knows we have a good plan and we can back it up." The sentence ends there, without interruption, for probably the only time during the interview. The smile says "you're going to have to trust me".

To go with his rugby passions, Edinburgh's new MD does, crucially, have a business background. A graduate of Heriot-Watt University, he worked his way up in human resources with the worldwide drinks company Diageo over 13 years before moving to Scottish & Newcastle and, as site manager at the former Fountain Brewery in Edinburgh, taking responsibility for over 300 employees. He was on the look-out for a new challenge with that brewery closing, however, and his friendship and knowledge of rugby meant he was the first man the Carruthers turned to to lead their new operation.

In the past, Scottish rugby has preferred the term "chief executive", so the switch to MD is a first, but in whatever guise many business/rugby leaders have come and gone from both the SRU and Edinburgh, and none managed to turn bursts of promise into professional success, on or off the pitch. Crowds of around 6,000 have watched Edinburgh on one-off occasions over the past decade, but the average is still under 3,000, which is well short of that required to pay the wages of pro players, and explains why the SRU have finally accepted outside investment.

Stirling has an idea why. He said: "Go to any rugby club across Scotland and they will tell you where the problems have been. I have three children, two boys 17 and 13, and an 11-year-old girl, and work with kids at GHA, who have grown up in the professional rugby era, but they don't have an identity with their professional rugby team.

"They do with the national squad and will come to Murrayfield, but they don't naturally go and watch Glasgow in Glasgow or Edinburgh in Edinburgh. We have missed a trick by alienating a lot of rugby diehards in recent years, so we must build bridges with clubs - with secretaries, committees, coaches, players, kids - and harness the passion for rugby around Edinburgh. We also hope to attract new supporters through them, more families and people who might not ordinarily go to rugby games.

"We have to make professional rugby a natural thing for more people to come along to. Having the great facilities of Murrayfield is a bonus for us, and now playing every Friday night instead of switching to Saturdays or Sundays when everyone else plays, will help, but we will also be marketing the games and aiming to make every game an experience, more than simply an 80-minute game."

Stirling speaks with an optimism which has lifted Edinburgh players but, like everyone else, they are desperate to know who will coach them beyond September, when the interim period of SRU trio Henry Edwards, Rob Moffat and Iain Paxton ends. Stirling has received over 20 applications from around the globe, and said interviews would begin next week.

"It is vital we get a good quality coach, but also the kind we believe we need to change and improve Edinburgh. We have a good squad, a good mix of talented young players and established internationals, but we need consistency.

"We have two thirds of the Scotland squad, which is a great thing, but has also brought an international focus to the squad I think. We need a coach who will help us develop an 'Edinburgh club'; where the attitude says 'we play for Edinburgh, and if we play well enough then we may we get the chance to play internationally'.

"We want a coach with a bit of nous, expertise and respect; an ability to get the best possible performance out of this squad every time Edinburgh play."

A rugby fan in every sense, Stirling may be the kid just handed the keys to the sweetie shop but he insists he is aware this is a new venture for himself and the Carruthers, one that requires patience and teamwork. "We've said it's really business as usual until we find our feet, and that won't be overnight.

"But we do have a firm business plan and ambitions. There has also been an enormous amount of goodwill in the last few weeks - calls, emails, people dropping in - so I feel we've kicked something positive off. We have to take the opportunity now to build on that."

This article was posted on 5-Aug-2006, 07:12 by Hugh Barrow.