THE HERALD REPORTS

Players should not be blamed for exodus
An artificial market has existed within Scottish rugby for years, because being qualified to play for the national side has carried a ridiculous premium.

Players who would have been offered sweeties in England, France or even Ireland and Wales, have squeezed thousands of extra pounds out of the Scottish Rugby Union by claiming that they were on the point of leaving. Desperate to keep them in Scotland to maintain control of their schedules, the governing body has come close to bankrupting itself in seeking to do so with as many as possible.

As one international after another prepares to leave the country in pursuit of greater riches in England, France and Ireland, it would be easy to come to the conclusion that, in this "egg-chasing" game, the goose which laid the golden eggs has received the Bernard Matthews treatment at the worst possible time.

Yet private indications from both players and their representatives is that it is not about money, that the SRU is still making realistic, even generous, offers for their services, but that they are leaving for "rugby reasons".

The mood as it relates to the SRU-owned professional sides was largely summed up by Gordon Bulloch.

The former Scotland captain observed that the players are tired of false promises about new facilities being identified and big-name signings being made.

Disenchantment at Glasgow dates back to the signing of the last genuine big-name player to come to Scotland. Bulloch was a Glasgow player when Todd Blackadder was recruited by David Jordan, then Glasgow's chief executive, only for the decree to come from Murrayfield that he be allocated to Edinburgh.

It is an inescapable fact that the current SRU hierarchy is paying heavily for the lies told by previous chief executives, directors of rugby or both.

Edinburgh's situation, which right now offers the greatest cause for concern to the national team management, is complicated by the involvement of its new owners. Added to their determination to get value for money, there is concern about the relationship between players and coaches.

It may not quite have reached the Barry Ferguson/ Paul Le Guen stage, but Iain Paxton's removal from coaching duties this week was significant. Yet any problem with Paxton has occurred on the watch of Lynn Howells over the past five or six months. That is a relatively long time in professional sport.

Howells is seen as very much an old-school coach and, while many of us believed that it might be just what Edinburgh's players needed to take them on a level after years of relatively gentle nurturing by Frank Hadden and Blackadder, he may need to re-think his approach.

Whether or not that is so, the over-riding issue is whether it is essential that the majority of contenders for places in the national squad remain in Scotland, or whether their interests are best served elsewhere.

Most of the problems relating to inflated egos within the Scotland squad have come from those who have arrived from, or left to experience, rugby in other countries. Yet, in terms of their individual development, several have blossomed in other cultures.

It has been similar to the way, in the amateur days, that Scotland players regularly excelled the year after British & Irish Lions tours. Once quality players have been exposed to those regarded as superstars from other countries, they have realised they are as good, if not better.

That there was no problem with player release for yesterday's Scotland squad session - English clubs prevented their players from training a fortnight ago - offers encouragement that players can move elsewhere without the national cause being damaged.

Even if that is accepted, though, there remains the problem of keeping Scotland's pro teams competitive in order to develop those not yet well enough known to be offered big-money deals elsewhere. That has to be the SRU's priority.

9:29pm today



By KEVIN FERRIE, Chief Rugby Writer

This article was posted on 28-Feb-2007, 08:24 by Hugh Barrow.