The Herald reports

Sickened’ chairman quits Edinburgh and blasts SRU

KEVIN FERRIE, Chief Rugby Writer July 05 2007
Alex Carruthers has launched a scathing attack on the Scottish Rugby Union after quitting as chairman of Edinburgh.

Carruthers and former chief executive Graeme Stirling decided to go because of the long-running dispute between the club and the SRU.

Explaining why he felt he had to leave, Carruthers singled out Gordon McKie, the SRU's chief executive, for particular blame.

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After The Herald revealed yesterday that Edinburgh had withdrawn their players from Scotland's World Cup development squad, a meeting took place between the two organisations, but they again failed to find common ground.

With both having stated publicly that they believe they have the law on their side in terms of the contractual disagreement, it seems matters escalated, leading to the surprise decision by Edinburgh's two leading executives.

"I just can't work with people like that," said Carruthers. "I've tried these past 12 months to be the voice of reason, but when you hear Gordon McKie threatening to stop us from playing and to starve us of money, then that is enough.

"This is not what I came into this for. It's not that I don't have the stomach for the fight, I just don't want to be involved in this over the next couple of years when I know what we've been trying to do. I'm just sickened by the whole experience of dealing with the SRU."

Carruthers said key issues were that SRU figures outlining the cost of running the team were not accurate. He claimed the SRU broke agreements about sharing revenue from major competitions.

When Gordon McKie threatens to stop us from playing and to starve us of money, then that is enough


He and his fellow members in the consortium that bought control of the club believe they were initially entitled to one-third of the revenues generated from Scottish participation in the Magners League and Heineken Cup, increasing to half following the axing of the Border Reivers.

He admitted that his and Stirling's decisions to quit could lend credence to rumours that the consortium are seeking an exit strategy because they are struggling to fund the team. He claims this is SRU-generated propaganda.

"They have been putting these rumours around since we fell out with them in October.

I think this is a personal vendetta now. It's gone beyond the bounds of common sense."

He was adamant that if the matter does reach the law courts, his older brother Bob, the main financier of their operation, would be resolute.

"Bob is definitely not walking away," he asserted. But Carruthers did admit that the situation could have serious implications for Edinburgh's Scotland international players.

"The consortium will have to cut their cloth accordingly if they go to the courts over this," Carruthers said. "That's what I've been trying to avoid, but I feel I've done as much as I can."

Those comments seemed to suggest that in order to finance court action, some of the bigger earners at the club might have to be released, something Frank Hadden, the national coach, would be appalled by. He has campaigned to keep as many of the international squad in the country as possible.

Carruthers' personal influence was a huge factor in the decision by Stephen Larkham, the Australian World Cup- winning stand-off, to come to Scotland after this year's tournament. Larkham praised Edinburgh for their professionalism, a quality that has been regularly questioned by the SRU during this dispute.

Larkham has get-out clauses in his contract and there must be a danger that he will consider using them if there is a dramatic change to the set-up.

"I'd like to think that won't happen, but who knows," was Carruthers' response.

The frustration of a man who is well liked throughout the Scottish game came through in his every utterance.

"I'm pounding the ground here thinking what a shame this is, but it seems they are more interested in putting a team in Richmond than in supporting our plans here," he said. "I've given it 12 months trying to get it on the right footing and we just about had it right on the rugby side."

The SRU admitted that there had been no resolution to the dispute, but otherwise refused to comment.

As they consider the advice being given to them by their highly-paid lawyers and PR experts, Murrayfield executives must now assess whether their silence is being interpreted by the rugby community as dignified or contemptuous.

This article was posted on 5-Jul-2007, 07:13 by Hugh Barrow.