THE HERALD REPORTS

The scale of the challenge facing those seeking to save the Border Reivers was placed in bleak context by yesterday's confirmation that French clubs are withdrawing from European competition.

With England's clubs set to follow suit, it means the Heineken and European Challenge Cup tournaments will be meaningless, and will certainly not produce the revenues which the Celtic nations in particular are so dependent upon.

The Scottish, Irish and Welsh Rugby Unions stand to lose £2.4m each from participation fees, while the total cost to clubs and provinces will be around £28m, even before the impact on season-ticket sales, sponsorship and the loss of gate receipts from big matches is assessed.

In none of the participating countries are the implications likely to be more immediate than in Scotland, where the decision to close the Border Reivers had already been taken last week.

While that was as much down to the strategic use of money as the absence of it, the loss of European revenues hugely exacerbates the Scottish Rugby Union's cash-flow difficulties and underlines why any effort to save the Reivers will have to be self-financing.

Yet, at a meeting held in Edinburgh's Caledonian Hotel last night, attended by around 30 people, those seeking to galvanise support for the Reivers were told by the men who originally established the team that their plan was flawed.

Jim Telfer, who was the SRU's director of rugby when the team was reinstated five years ago, criticised comparisons which those organising the Borders Rugby Action Group had made between the Reivers and the Irish province, Connacht.

"I don't think Border people will come and support a development team with a few old guys in there to help them," he said. "I think you need to be more ambitious than that."

Norman Douglas, a Borders representative on the SRU's general committee when the decision was made to put a team in the Borders as opposed to the fourth Scottish district Caledonia North and Midlands, said the action group were doing a disservice to the team by saying SRU money was not required. "It's the SRU's duty to give you money," he insisted.

Graham Garvie, the former director of Edinburgh Rugby who stepped down from that post to get involved in this campaign, chaired the meeting and responded by saying he accepted the point, but that they had to work from the current position.

"We were at closure last week; now we're trying to save the team," he said. "Long-term, we want to have players who can win matches and star names, but the first thing we have to do is keep going."

He also said the steering group could not yet outline details of its rescue bid but confirmed that they were aiming at a Connacht-type budget of around £1.2m.

While he also said he had received an offer of a £100,000 donation from an anonymous business, there has been little evidence of any real money to back up the rhetoric and The Herald understands that suggestions which circulated yesterday that the Duke of Buccleuch could be set to saddle up and mount the white charger are misplaced. His company, Buccleuch Estates, sponsors the Reivers and is prepared to continue to do so, but is not expected to dig deeper to provide the bulk of the £1.5m that is reckoned to be the minimum requirement.

David Kilshaw, the Reivers' non-executive chairman who is working hard to find ways of keeping his team alive, meanwhile offered some detail yesterday of how he believes that can happen.

He describes his vision as that of an internationalist seeking to work with the International Rugby Board to provide opportunities for players from emerging nations to get into professional rugby. He also wants to draw ambitious Anglo-Scots who are currently playing at English first-division level or equivalent and developing local youngsters through an academy structure.

Kilshaw is convinced that Scottish Borders Council will help provide the facilities required and noted that Borders College is looking to set up sports-oriented modules allowing young players to study for qualifications while developing playing careers.

Aspirational as that vision is, it could be implemented anywhere in the country, including those that are more heavily populated, so boasting greater commercial potential. It is also dependent on SRU funding. Yet any remote prospect of persuading those who made the strategic decision to concentrate what funds they have for pro rugby on one wholly owned side in Glasgow and one in which they retain a share in Edin-burgh, is surely further undermined if, as now seems inevitable, the European competitions disappear.

That only adds to the gloom surrounding the sport as the three Scottish teams prepare to return to Magners League action tonight.

Sean Lineen, the coach of Glasgow Warriors, reflected on that yesterday. He is an always ebullient individual and should have a little more reason than most for optimism having been told last week that he will receive additional funding to help him create a competitive team, reflected that yesterday.

"I would hope there will still be some kind of European competition next season, but professional sport tends to be about very selfish people looking after their own," he said.

"It is very frustrating that we are preparing for very attractive matches in the Magners League and yet no-one is talking about it. It is a really difficult environment to work in at the moment and I just wish we could get on with playing the game."




By KEVIN FERRIE, Chief Rugby Writer

This article was posted on 6-Apr-2007, 06:36 by Hugh Barrow.