It's a resplendent sun-drenched morning in the east of Scotland, a variety of rugby players and coaches, connected with today's Scottish Cup finals, have assembled at Murrayfield, and Ian Barnes, the redoubtable figure at the helm of Edinburgh Accies, is offering his opinions on the sport he loves with his usual throaty rasp of enthusiasm. What's not to like? Even when he upbraids me - gently - for perpetuating the "myth" that the game remains in thrall to elitism, the Borderer's argument is pretty difficult to refute.

"It might once have been the case, but we have gone into the comprehensives and encouraged the kids to take an interest in rugby, and when we meet Glasgow Hawks in the final, there will be boys and girls from Drylaw and Pilton mixing with the rest of the supporters and they can be guaranteed to make a lot of noise," said Barnes.

"Yes, it might be a culture shock to some of the older Accies supporters, but it is a breath of fresh air as well."

Some people have already christened these raucous fans "The Barney Army" and it is certainly true this unlikely hero of Raeburn Place will never stick to one word where he can trade banter and brawny wisdom after the fashion of an oval-ball Brian Clough. Yet for many folk, that explains why the rise of the Edinburgh club has been one of the genuine success stories of an otherwise saturnine year for Scottish rugby, and exemplifies why even those of us who have applauded Hawks' myriad exploits throughout the past decade will be quietly hoping that Dan Teague's men can orchestrate an against-the-odds triumph at the national stadium this afternoon.

For starters, having already demonstrated their ability in the process of eliminating Premiership 1 opponents, Currie, Hawick and Boroughmuir, en route to today's denouement, Barnes' team are moulded resolutely in his image and fancy-dan under-achievers need not apply.

Instead, this is a squad abrim with muscular vim and vigour, in the shape of Nathan Pike, Ed Stuart, Joe Edwards, Teague and Alistair Marsh - the latter of whom gets married this morning, prior to flying to Edinburgh by helicopter to prop up the Accies' front row.

Then there are the backs, coached by the onliest Jim Renwick, who feature such talents as teenager Paul Loudon, a wunderkind who looks as if he should be carrying a Young Person's railcard, but oozes menace at the sniff of an opening by his fellow three-quarters.

No wonder that Barnes, a far more tactically astute and cerebral thinker than he is given credit for by his detractors, is replete with positivity ahead of facing the Hawks. "If we can perform to our capabilities, it will take a good side to beat us," he said.

"Because we have gained a huge amount of confidence from our progress in this tournament - whether in defeating Currie after they rushed into a 20-3 lead early in the match, or in facing up to the Hawick and Boroughmuir packs and winning.

"There's no doubt that Hawks will begin favourites and I don't quibble with that. They have been the benchmark for everybody else in the last few years and the fact this is their fifth Cup final whereas it is our first testifies to their success.

"But we are not frightened of anybody and there isn't a massive gap between the best teams in the Premiership, as West of Scotland proved in running Hawks close in the semi-finals.

"What matters is that we do ourselves justice and the boys are all relishing this opportunity. For many of them, it will be the biggest occasion in their careers and the mood around the camp has been one of excitement this week.

"Basically, we have nothing to lose, we have secured promotion this season, and anything else is the icing on the cake. But I'll tell you this: the best side we have played this year has been Stirling County and that includes the three higher-ranked clubs we have knocked out of the tournament. Yes, we are the underdogs, but we will be having a real go and I reckon that we are peaking at exactly the right time."

As a trenchant adversary of the SRU's policy of bank-rolling the country's professional organisations at the expense of the grass-roots - his outspoken criticism of the SRU's pro teams was epitomised in his response to hearing of the demise of the Borders: "One down, two to go" - Barnes has never shirked a challenge in his life, nor indulged in soft soap with a target in his sights.

Ask him about the Magners League and he replies: "Ach, it's s***e. It's 15-man rugby league. Bores me to tears." But, perhaps appreciative of the fact that assailing the governing body these days is akin to shooting fish in a barrel, he believes it is overdue to talk up the Scottish Cup and proclaim the effervescence of the club circuit rather than wallowing in gloom.

"It's very important we send out a message that we are alive and kicking and that goes for Hawks, and Garnock and Falkirk and all the other teams who are at Murrayfield on Saturday," said Barnes.

"Actually, I have been heartened by the return of some decent crowds on our cup run and the atmosphere at the semis, both in Edinburgh and Glasgow, was reminiscent of the good old days, so we have to build on that.

"I'm not pretending we can go back to the period when 5000 fans would regularly attend club fixtures, but it's a step in the right direction and next season's Premiership will be extremely intense and competitive, so I hope we can entice people to try us out. If they do, they might be pleasantly surprised, because we have more thrills than you'll see in the pro ranks."

An honest antagonist with a scatter-gun approach, Barnes ticks most of the right boxes. Tune in today for a reminder of rugby as it used to be when Scotland were kings.

This article was posted on 5-May-2007, 07:05 by Hugh Barrow.