THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS

Foreign imports should be for pro teams only

JOHN BEATTIE

WE pay loads of foreigners to play in our domestic club teams, but rail at them being imported into Glasgow, Edinburgh and the Borders. In fact, it should be the other way around.

At the Watsonians dinner on Friday night Scott and Gavin Hastings, Gary Armstrong and Doddie Weir carried the show impeccably with a stint on the couch being interviewed by Willie Hunter. It’s too easy to forget that those four players were, probably, as good as anyone has ever been in their positions in the blue jersey. And it’s almost romantic to think about the days when they strutted their stuff in Scottish club rugby.

But I think that even back then we kept saying how bad we were! Just imagine, there was a time when Gavin Hastings and Scott Hastings were playing against Bryan Redpath, or Gregor Townsend, or or Alan Tait, or Craig Chalmers, George Graham, or Kenny Logan. And we a thought that the standard of club rugby was poor. What misguided fools we can be.

Since then the landscape has shifted. You don’t see internationals in club rugby unless they are well past their sell-by date, or have yet to arrive in which case might only be known to David Icke. Instead, Scottish club rugby has had to fill the gaps left by its most talented players who have been given the chance of full-time rugby by one of the three professional teams in Scotland, or indeed by French, English or Italian clubs.

The most successful Scottish club, Glasgow Hawks, have not imported players from overseas but have managed to attract the best talent to Old Anniesland from other Scottish clubs. I don’t think Hawks pay their players. Heriot’s, similarly, do not seem to be awash with foreign talent. Yet there are clubs who insist on wasting money on imports. And it is plainly stupid when club rugby should be the place we see the youth of Scottish rugby. I cannot see any reason for clubs to include imports in their team, other than trying that tactic as part of a misguided attempt at maintaining an artificially inflated status within the Scottish game.

But the fully professional level is very different. If club rugby is about development of players who want to move on to the professional ranks - which it should be - then professional rugby is a delicate balance between a centrally-funded attempt at the development of Scotland players and the fielding of winning teams.

Our three pro teams do not play against wholly Irish and Welsh teams in the Celtic League, and are expected to beat them. So what’s blindingly obvious from England, France, and even Ireland is that professional sides need imported players. Even though it might be noble to expect that our three professional sides can compete by picking from a purely Scottish base of around 120 players, logic tells you that a Todd Blackadder or two included within a majority of Scots brings a massive impact.

It has to be co-ordinated of course. There is no point in fielding all three professional scrum-halves from New Zealand for example.

I have a lot of time for young Scottish players who complain that "so-and-so" from New Zealand or Australia might be taking their place in a club. It is impossible to compete as, say, a 20-year-old student stand-off with the full-time Kiwi who is over here to play rugby. So, at that level, it shouldn’t happen.

But when that youngster then becomes a 21-year-old receiving area institute time and advice along with specialist training programmes and more free kit than can be fitted into a three-ton Bedford truck and he’s still not making it, then sorry, but cast him adrift.

Club rugby is for those who are going to make it, might never make it, and have been there and are now on their way down. And they should all be Scots. Professional rugby is for the best. Stop complaining and get training.

This article was posted on 25-Apr-2005, 07:21 by Hugh Barrow.