Edinburgh have accused Scottish Rugby of a lack of consultation ahead of the governing body's release on Tuesday of a wide-ranging study into its future.
And their statement warned against any reduction in the three professional teams playing in the Magners League.

"We would have expected to be involved in any review of this nature," it said.

"This has not happened and we feel it is essential that no fundamental decisions are taken without allowing Edinburgh Rugby any input."

The review was announced on 18 February, with the SRU board saying it "recognises that professional rugby in Scotland is still struggling to fully take off at pro-team level".

It has looked into investment, squad sizes, relationships with and participation in the Heineken Cup and Magners League, third-party investors, pro-team numbers and locations, training and playing facilities, plus academies.

Scotland presently has three professional teams, Border Reivers, Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh, who have now indicated their anger at the likely conclusions.

The ongoing uncertainty concerning the future of the pro teams has been hugely damaging to the professional game
Edinburgh Rugby Ltd

"When Edinburgh Rugby Ltd bought the club from the SRU, we made a binding commitment to work in association with them to develop and nurture professional rugby players in Scotland," their statement said.

"We also undertook to develop the pro game in Scotland and we remain 100% committed to that mission.

"We fully appreciated that this would not be an overnight process and that the task would be difficult and challenging - and would require both commitment and investment.

"When the season began seven months ago, we subscribed to the SRU's position that the Scottish pro teams formed the basis of the support required to develop, maintain and enhance the Scotland national squad.

"Given that Edinburgh rugby operates in association with the SRU and is a major stakeholder in the professional game in Scotland, we would have expected to be involved.

"We were inspired to invest in the pro game by Andy Irvine's vision for a return to four professional districts in Scotland, including a re-born Caledonian Reds.

"We recognise that this will not happen next season but hope that this can be achieved sooner rather than later.

"In the meantime, the ongoing uncertainty concerning the future of the pro teams has been hugely damaging to the professional game.

"Any reduction in playing sides would represent a change to the vision for the sport we bought into and could have serious ramifications for Edinburgh Rugby.

"We believe that the pro game in Scotland needs a better structured playing season with a fixture list which would enable the full squad to be utilised regularly and engage the full spectrum of rugby supporters.

"In 2007-08, we would like to see the introduction of a Scottish Cup competition for the professional teams, with the possible addition of a Scottish club select, which would provide amateur club players with a stepping stone to professional rugby."

Despite their criticism of the review, Edinburgh Rugby stress that they are not looking to pull out of professional rugby.

"As we reach the conclusion of our first season, we would like to reiterate that Edinburgh Rugby Ltd is committed to making the Edinburgh team a success long term," they added.

This article was posted on 26-Mar-2007, 19:17 by Hugh Barrow.