EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS REPORTS
Carruthers bid for Borders
BILL LOTHIAN
EDINBURGH RUGBY owner Bob Carruthers led an audacious bid to buy Border Reivers last October in an effort to try to ease anxieties over the future of the pro-team and make Scottish domestic rugby more competitive.

That was the shock claim today from Carruthers as Murrayfield bosses prepared to announce the findings of a review into the future of the pro-game. Mr Carruthers said: "There is a consortium of businessmen out there well disposed to Scottish rugby who were prepared to buy Borders.

"Proposals were put to the SRU owners but after discussions we were eventually rejected in a brief e-mail saying that under IRB regulation nine nobody could own two teams. What I contest is that closer study of the rules state that it would have been possible with the permission of the governing body, ie the SRU, who continue to operate two teams.

"If they had allowed us to buy Borders they would have found people like Borders Council waiting in the wings ready to help as they were part of the bid tabled to [SRU Chief Executive] Gordon McKie. Not only that but we might have been in a position to then help keep Glasgow going."

At a time when the Scottish domestic game is under serious threat Carruthers described the reaction of the SRU to the bid as "childish". He added: "The problem for Edinburgh Rugby is that we can't break down such attitudes in an organisation that hasn't communicated with us since October despite us being the first people to bring in private money.

"That's because we don't have the power and the influence. Of course we will keep trying to operate for as long as possible but the SRU do have the ability to make it difficult. For example if Borders or Glasgow are closed down after our efforts in the past to help develop the pro game it will have serious implications for Edinburgh.

"For one thing it will mean two less games a season at a time when we have only a handful at home scheduled for 2007."

SRU spokesperson Dee McIntosh: "This is not something we know about."

This article was posted on 27-Mar-2007, 14:31 by Hugh Barrow.