THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS
DAVID FERGUSON ([email protected])
BUYING and controlling a professional rugby team in Scotland was always destined to be a Herculean challenge, but for Bob Carruthers and his team of enthusiastic businessmen, their five months in charge of Edinburgh have been full surprises, not all of them pleasant.

The Kirkcaldy-born entrepreneur has kept a low profile since putting together the consortium in June and pulling off the shock take-over, the first serious private investment in Scottish pro rugby.

"[the publicity] is for my brother Alex, Graeme Stirling [MD] and others," he said, "and so they're the public face of the set-up. But don't think I've got nothing to do with it now my money's going in. I am hands-off in terms of the team, the coaches and what we do on the field, but very much hands-on everywhere else."

Because of his reluctance, only Edinburgh supporters who know his face have got close to the man behind the new venture, often on match nights. That has left many questions: Is there real money involved? Are they in it for 15 minutes of fame? Are they SRU stooges?

Carruthers is a jovial character, a man who made money in the television, film and DVD industry after leaving Edinburgh University with an economics degree and working for years in sales and marketing with British Airways and Central Television. His brother, Alex, played for Caledonia Reds when professional rugby was first set up and the duo have never lost their passion for rugby.

The key to this move, however, was persuading four other businessmen to each part with half a million pounds at a meeting at Scotland's match with the Barbarians in May. Speaking for the first time about the takeover, Carruthers told The Scotsman yesterday that this was no franchise agreement; that his team had committed several million pounds to buy the team from the SRU and run it indefinitely, with an agreed share of Heineken Cup and Magners League money distributed to them annually from the SRU executive board.

It is the kind of agreement Scottish rugby had been seeking for the past decade. From Dunc Paterson, the SRU chairman in the early days of professionalism, to Bill Watson, the union's first chief executive, and then Phil Anderton, the ebullient but short-lasting CEO of 2005, many hours were spent trying to persuade people to part with a few million.

McKie, the man who swept into Murrayfield last year on the back of the latest revolution, succeeded in persuading Carruthers and the four other unidentified businessmen, to buy Edinburgh, take on the players' wages and duly shift over £1m in losses from the union's bank balance. The picture in August could not be rosier, but, cracks have been appearing of late, suggesting that the agreement, done inside a month, was perhaps not as tight as was believed by both parties.

Bob Carruthers shifts uneasily when asked about issues which have hit the headlines recently - arguments over the split of bar takings and the SRU-enforced closure of Edinburgh's bar, the main source of matchday revenue - but admitted that he was only just beginning to understand the different agendas of a pro team and the SRU. And it made sober reading. He explained: "What we've been trying to do over the past few months is to link together some kind of framework which will support Scotland and pro rugby, but it's become apparent that the two are incompatible. The demands of international rugby now, and the tiny pool of players we have in Scotland, mean you can't do justice to both.

"Frank [Hadden] is doing a brilliant job, focusing, rightly, on improving Scotland, but that means he wants his players rested, wrapped in cotton wool, or attending squad sessions. Lynn Howells, the Edinburgh coach, obviously, wants his players training and preparing to play for Edinburgh; that's his job. It becomes impossible when they're dealing with 18 or 20 of the same players."

But, supporters of both Edinburgh and Scotland are entitled to ask why he was surprised. This has been, arguably, the key problem in Scottish rugby. Was this not clarified before the deal was struck, or has the Carruthers consortium been naïve in their enthusiasm to help Scottish rugby?

"I don't think so," said Bob, not altogether convincingly. "We were aware that we had an obligation to supply players, but we also took on an obligation to run a club almost exclusively using Scottish talent and what we've discovered is that it just can't be done. There is just not enough players to support three pro teams and compete with the best in the Magners League.

"The league is run by the three unions, but Ireland do nothing but support their national side; the SRU has, and this isn't a complaint, a strong focus on supporting the Scotland side; only the Welsh treat it a bit more like the Guinness Premiership where the clubs are put first. For us, it's quite a dichotomy: how do you support Scotland and compete for the Magners League title?"

The issue has crystallised pretty quickly for the new boys as a World Cup year approaches. Edinburgh's improvement could see them provide as many as 20 of their 30 full-time pros to Scotland's campaign, so on top of the Six Nations, Churchill Cup and sevens commitments, the top players face an eight-week preparation period next summer and the likelihood of key men being rested on return in November. The Magners League is expected to kick off on 22 September.

Carruthers is clearly vexed, having stated from the outset that he wanted to create a Scottish team and fly the Saltire proudly atop the Magners League and through Europe. He has now turned to the common solution of the leading Magners sides and English clubs - buying in players not involved in international rugby, nor likely to be. Three non-Scots have joined recently and as many as 12 could be signed up by the end of the season.

"The only reason we have got a competitive team is because of the Scottish talent nurtured by the SRU and brought on by guys like Frank and Henry Edwards, so we cannot be churlish about now losing so many to Frank," he was quick to add.

"We are very proud of them, but we want to improve and inspire every young guy in Scotland to play for Edinburgh and Scotland. The realisation that that won't actually make Edinburgh the success we want them to be has been the big disappointing factor for us.

"We will be paying wages of a host of players next year who we may hardly see wearing an Edinburgh jersey. That means, though, that we will be looking to sign another 10 to 12 players to cover their absence, which was a bit of a surprise.

"It is going to cost us all a bit more than we first expected, but the directors who have invested know really that they're in for over the next five years and nobody will whine over a bit extra investment.

"I'm pretty confident that with the players we have and the coaching staff we can elevate Edinburgh to contenders for the top spot, or at least top two or three every year. The big frustration for us was always to watch Munster and wonder why they could compete every year and Scottish sides couldn't. So, a window appeared for us in the summer, for guys with a bit of money and the stomach for it, to step in and try to make a dent in the pro game."

Carruthers is keen to underline that the new Edinburgh owners are not turning their back on Scots, and they have been involved in talks with English clubs, such as Newcastle and Sale, on creating a more established reserve team fixture list. Carruthers speaks of having had his eyes opened to a gulf between the club and pro games, but believes the 'Edinburgh Bravehearts' might help create a stepping stone for aspiring youngsters and, if he has his way, new relations with clubs south of the border could lead to a British League.

"We have the possibility that if the Guinness Premiership pull up the drawbridge and have no relegation, as they are talking about, lots of great clubs in the English first division - clubs like Orrell, Nottingham, Moseley, Coventry - will be left, chopped off from the Premiership.

"I think that would be a mistake for English rugby, but could benefit us because if you put those great clubs into the Magners League there would be great potential for a British League, which could be a lot stronger than the Premiership. If there's a will for something like that it could be fantastic for Scottish rugby."

Clearly, the 46-year-old Fifer, who still turns out at lock for his village side in England when not on business in sunnier climes, retains the enthusiasm on which he swept into Scottish rugby, despite the unforeseen hurdles. Despite speculation about a return to Meadowbank, a move away from Murrayfield seems unlikely in the short term but there is a possibility in the longer term of moving into the City of Edinburgh Council's planned new stadium at Sighthill, even if funding never mind a date for starting the building is still to be finalised. He added: "There is a lot to look forward to. We are very confident we can work through our difficulties. It's a complex relationship [with the SRU], but I'm hopeful we'll come out of it with an agreement that suits us both; we're very close to that.

"We will always be fiercely independent and protective of our rights, but we are also fiercely committed to Scottish rugby being stronger and going forward. Andy Irvine has always said that if we have a successful Scotland everything else flows from there. Well, I agree with that in part, but we have a big job of engaging with the clubs and strengthening the professional club tier.

"I think the SRU have done very well in their role in setting up the Magners League and making pro rugby play on Friday nights - it's not an easy job keeping all of Scottish rugby happy. The SRU has done a lot of great work, and the ability of guys like Henry Edwards to pluck out real talent is fantastic, but we need to get clubs re-engaged and energised, and get more people playing the game, the pro game and Scotland can move forward.

"That is what is exciting. There is nothing like professional sport and I have no regrets about getting involved."

This article was posted on 2-Dec-2006, 08:38 by Hugh Barrow.