EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS REPORTS
COLIN RENTON
HERIOT'S assistant coach(FORMER GHK AND HAWKS STALWART) George Breckenridge admits he is relishing the prospect of the Premier 1 Super Cup, which kicks off early in the new year, and the chance it presents for Scottish rugby to lead the world.

All eyes will be on the 21-match competition, which features the Premiership Division One sides and is considered by the sport's governing body, the IRB, to be the perfect arena to test proposed changes to the laws on scrummaging, lineouts and mauling.

After reviewing the experiment, the IRB will decide whether to adopt any of the changes, although this will not occur until after next year's World Cup at the earliest.

Breckenridge said: "We are lucky that we have the Super Cup which is an ideal opportunity to trial new laws. We are the only country in the world doing all the laws. It's a huge opportunity, not just for Scottish clubs, but for Scottish rugby in general. When was the last time that Scotland was at the forefront of law changes? Games are going to be showcased. Where they are videoed, Richie Dixon wants to see the tapes.

"The IRB programme, Total Rugby, is planning to show some of the action and there are talks going on to have it shown on The Rugby Club on Sky. The more games we can get highlighted, the better it is for putting Scottish rugby in the shop window."

Ex-national coach Dixon is a member of the IRB working party that also includes his international counterparts Rod Macqueen of Australia and the South African Ian McIntosh, as well as the IRB staff Pierre Villepreux, Paddy O'Brien and Bruce Cook.

The group initially carried out a one-week experiment at Stellenbosch University in South Africa earlier in the year and subsequently made several amendments to the experimental rules.

A study of the matches showed they were played at a faster pace and the number of tries per game rose to an average of between 11 and 15. Now the Super Cup will be the first tournament to implement the rules, and the ultimate aim is to make rugby more entertaining and easier to follow for spectators.

With head coach Bob McKillop scheduled to be absent on Six Nations duty with the national Under-20 side, Breckenridge will be at the helm for the Goldenacre men. A proponent of flowing rugby, he believes the style of play being targeted by the IRB will suit his players.

"I don't think there will be a lot of change for Heriot's because we try to play a continuity-type game, but we'll have to work a bit at the breakdown," he said.

"The players will find that the game is much tougher. The IRB have proven that the game is a lot quicker.

"Although we are allowed an extra player on the bench so we'll have five subs, we all know that as you get more tired the skill level tends to drop." And he is clearly an enthusiast of the opportunity presented by the tournament, as he added: "I think it's fantastic. Some of it goes back to, dare I say it, when I played. The whole ethos is to speed up the game and make it much more interesting. The whole thing for me is about the players taking control of the game."

He sees the tournament as an opportunity for rugby in this country to roll back the years to a purer version of the game.

"There are some moves from my days 10-15 years ago that spring to mind as being suited to the changes," he said.

"There are certain things you can do but the main thing is that you have to make sure you are there and you are freeing the ball quickly and attacking. "But at the end of the day we still have to play rugby."

However, while he is targeting success in the Super Cup, Breckenridge does not have it at the top of his list of priorities for the rest of the season.

"We are still aiming for a top-three finish in the league and a good run in the cup, hopefully ending up at Murrayfield, which the guys would love," he added. "What we are looking to do in the Super Cup is to develop some of the youngsters and bring them on. We have some guys who have been performing well in the seconds and deserve a run in the first team."

This article was posted on 6-Dec-2006, 19:38 by Hugh Barrow.