THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS

DAVID FERGUSON

THE Scottish Rugby Union faces a hurried campaign to persuade the IRB that Murrayfield could make a success of a world sevens tournament after ruling out the plan to host the event at Melrose.

David Parker, the Scottish Borders Council (SBC) leader, spoke out in The Scotsman yesterday against the decision of Gordon McKie, the SRU chief executive, to leave Melrose out of the bid to the IRB in relation to the initial 2007 tournament, insisting McKie\'s claim of a possible £500,000 loss incurred by the SRU to be without foundation.

The original plan was for a new company involving Scottish Enterprise Borders, EventScotland, SBC, Melrose RFC and the SRU to host the IRB Sevens at the Greenyards from 2007-2011. The partners, as well as an independent firm which carried out the feasibility study, backed the plan, which included no SRU funding, as financially sound and impressed the IRB to the extent that one official described it as the best he had seen.

Contrary to McKie\'s claims earlier this week that tickets would be \"£60 for the day\", ticket prices were £65, £56 and £40 for the entire weekend, with daily tickets expected to be half that. Now, however, without the benefit of the Borders group\'s two years of research and planning, and perhaps also the funding of EventScotland, who are yet to be persuaded of the merits of funding a Murrayfield event, the SRU must convince the IRB that they have the financial support and wherewithal to host a world sevens tournament.

The SRU refused to discuss its plans yesterday and the IRB similarly declined to comment before the bid is submitted, but it is known that it is far from being a fait accompli. So will Murrayfield swing it? The only occasion a major sevens event was staged at Murrayfield was in 1993, the inaugural Rugby World Cup Sevens, but despite attracting 30,000 for the final day, the SRU was heavily criticised.

The circuit now attracts an average crowd of 30,000 - around 15,000 each day - but there are concerns that atmosphere would be lost in the 67,500-seater Murrayfield.

Had Murrayfield been the original plan it is doubtful the IRB would have been impressed. Scotland only appeared on the IRB\'s radar two years ago when a proposal was put together by the three agencies mentioned to return sevens to its Melrose \'home\'. The SRU had little involvement, but agreed to be the host union if satisfied with the financial projections.

Syd Millar, the IRB chairman, said on a visit to the Greeenyards: \"Melrose has two things: it is the home of sevens so we wouldn\'t have to convince the Borders people that sevens is worth seeing. Also, the Borders is an absolute gem as far as tourism is concerned.\"

The IRB is not simply in the business of doling out sevens tournaments either as it is bidding to use the new five-year cycle to win rugby a place in the Olympic Games by London 2012. Sevens is the only realistic form of the sport which could be fitted into a games programme and

if accepted by the IOC, rugby would be able to tap into significant new funding sources, notably in the USA and Far East, and seriously create a global sport. The IRB has stressed the importance, therefore, of the sevens tournaments presenting a great image of rugby sevens, by being fully attended, well-organised and with a great atmosphere.

The IRB may find it difficult to bring in another host at this late stage, but, still, McKie\'s bid must convince the IRB that Murrayfield can be a success or his gamble of shelving Melrose for 2007 may prove to be a massive blunder.

This article was posted on 28-Sep-2006, 07:16 by Hugh Barrow.