THE HERALD REPORTS


Kennedy support for SRU chief executive
After days of the rugby schedule being dominated by Edinburgh's vociferous chairman, Bob Carruthers, the Scottish Rugby Union hit back yesterday with a clinical retaliatory strike in their dispute with the professional club.

Brian Kennedy, owner of Sale Sharks, the Guinness Premiership high rollers, and a member of the Scottish Rugby Board, said he backed the union's chief executive, Gordon McKie "100%" and refuted any "manipulation in pursuit of cheap headlines" by anyone seeking to denounce the Murrayfield-based body.

Kennedy, the multi-millionaire owner of Sale, has been otherwise engaged in South Africa for the past week, during which time Scottish rugby has been dragged through another period of internecine warfare, with Carruthers regularly holding court at his personal fiefdom within Edinburgh's Caledonian Hotel.

advertisementHowever, as the end game in the conflict between the two parties began last night, it became obvious that Kennedy, who spoke exclusively to The Herald, has no truck with Carruthers' statements to the effect that the SRU are to blame for precipitating the current damaging breach of relations, which still threatens to wind up in the courts.

"The union has to stand firm on this issue, and I am 100% behind them and their chief executive Gordon McKie in this matter, because he is an honest man, a tough operator and somebody who I would want in my corner if the going became difficult," said Kennedy, the one Scot who has genuinely taken professionalism in rugby by the horns.

"Of course, I do not like to see so much negative publicity surrounding the game, but the flak has been coming in one direction and that is why I am so fully supportive of Gordon, who is doing a great job.

The Herald has discovered Carruthers’ concert business is facing serious concerns


"He recognises you can't be bullied, you can't afford to take a backward step when you are convinced you are correct and I believe the SRU will be vindicated in this row".

Kennedy's support, allied to credentials superior to those of anyone else in the Scottish game, arrived just as Carruthers issued another long and frankly rather exhausting statement, in which his ebullient mood could hardly have been more different from his rabble-rousing exhibition on Tuesday.

Nonetheless, The Herald has discovered that Carruthers' concert business, which formed a staple part of his plans when he bought the Edinburgh club last July, is facing serious financial concerns, having lost significant sums of money on gigs this year, with fewer than 10,000 tickets thus far sold for next Saturday's Bryan Adams concert, and no high-profile bookings arranged for 2008.

In that light, his optimism yesterday seemed a trifle misplaced. "We are delighted that the SRU has confirmed that Edinburgh Rugby has, at all times, enjoyed the right to play professional rugby in the Magners League and Heineken Cup and we would like to make it clear that we have behaved by the book," said Carruthers. "We also want to make it clear that our international players were released early to the Scotland camp by the senior management at ERL. Edinburgh Rugby is under a contractual obligation to SRU plc to release the players to Scotland on July 13.

"In fact, the players were released early by Edinburgh to the Scotland camp by the senior management of ERL. To help clarify matters, the 12 players selected for the Scotland camp were given absolute assurances by Bob Carruthers at a group meeting on Thursday July 5 that they were free to report for Scotland duty at any time in advance of the agreed July 13 release date."

This sounds convincing but, unfortunately, from Carruthers' perspective, the personnel concerned - and most of them are very concerned - were always going to be on holiday for the last week, beginning July 7.

Thus, while Carruthers claimed "the myth has continued to circulate that Edinburgh Rugby has in any way been unhelpful", the truth is well-known among the players and Scotland coach, Frank Hadden, who are furious at the obstructions placed in their path.

In short, Carruthers is temporarily enjoying some PR success, but this will not extend beyond any genuine scrutiny of his financial position. He argued yesterday that it was essential to secure detente with the SRU to ensure that the Australian maestro, Stephen Larkham, isn't dissuaded from joining the Edinburgh ranks next season.

But nobody should be bounced into believing that Carruthers is in charge of a happy ship at Edinburgh. On the contrary - and Kennedy has brought things into sharp relief - the truth will soon emerge from behind this week's camouflage.

This article was originally posted on 13-Jul-2007, 07:20 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 13-Jul-2007, 07:20.