THE HERALD REPORTS

Glasgow could be forced to play in Edinburgh after foul-up
KEVIN FERRIE,

Glasgow Warriors may be forced to play the most important home European tie in their history in Edinburgh tomorrow because of the failure of their owners, the Scottish Rugby Union, to prepare properly for the predicted poor weather.

Officials were in no doubt yesterday morning that their Hughenden home was unplayable but, after initially admitting that, they spent the day back-tracking desperately, apparently seeking to avoid throwing away home advantage.

Last night, the probability was that they will have to play their European Challenge Cup Pool 2 decider agaisnt Saracens, the Guinness Premiership side, at the national stadium at Murrayfield because they cannot find a suitable venue any nearer Glasgow.

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At the end of a week which began with the other SRU-owned team, Border Reivers, having to switch a European Cup tie from their home area to the capital, it became evident yesterday that no firm plans had been made to deal with Hughenden being unfit for play. That was in spite of a decidedly unfavourable weather forecast.

While efforts were made to blame the late attendance of the referee for the Border Reivers v Northampton match being switched to Murrayfield at less than two hours' notice on Sunday, the cash-strapped governing body may face disciplinary action over it.

SRU staff are doing all they can to ensure Hughenden is playable
Scottish Rugby Union

It is also a public relations disaster for the Borders or Glasgow to have to play "home" games in Edinburgh.

With Hughenden clearly unplayable and Firhill, their home for the second half of last season, apparently no longer an option, officials were phoning far and wide.

Among the football clubs under discussion were Kilmarnock, St Mirren, Falkirk and St Johnstone. There was, though, more than a hint of spin in the official statement issued yesterday as they sought to avoid acknowledging publicly that an Edinburgh ground was the only realistic venue option for their Glasgow team. "SRU staff are doing all they can to ensure Hughenden is playable," said their spokesman. "The SRU is also exploring a number of alternative venues within the Glasgow Warriors catchment area if Hughenden does prove unplayable."

In saying so, they were treating the public with contempt as Warriors players were told at their team lunch - it was attended by successful past Glasgow District players including Sandy Service, Dave Barrett and Walter Malcolm - that the tie would definitely not be played at Hughenden.

While no blame can be attached to the coaches or players, the way this has happened has left their week-long calls for support ringing very hollow indeed.

When pressed, the spokesman admitted that playing at Murrayfield on Saturday is the official standby option but that they were doing their utmost to ensure that the game was played in the Glasgow area. What he could not answer was why that process was not under way before yesterday morning.

The work being done on the pitch in mid-afternoon, long after the snow had stopped falling, amounted to one man with a spade and a barrow trying to clear the surface. If the SRU is genuinely arguing that this amounts to SRU staff "doing all they can", it is extremely disturbing.

The organisation boasts more than double the number of headquarters staff than those employed by the New Zealand Rugby Union. By contrast the Warriors and Reivers operate with skeleton workforces compared to their provincial rivals in Ireland.

If the match goes to Murrayfield, it is not certain whether it will be staged tomorrow or on Sunday either.

While the weather has had far less of an impact on the capital, and even though Edinburgh's meeting with Agen tonight is a relatively meaningless affair, playing two matches within 24 hours of one another at the national stadium would place considerable pressure on the Murrayfield pitch.

The official inspection of Hughenden is scheduled for 10am.

This article was posted on 19-Jan-2007, 08:46 by Hugh Barrow.