THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS
DAVID FERGUSON
EDINBURGH players are gearing up for a crack at Tonga as part of the Pacific Islanders' World Cup warm-up, but whether they will by then be back under SRU control or still in private hands remains to be answered.

Contrary to weekend reports, there was no agreement reached yesterday between Edinburgh Rugby Limited and the Scottish Rugby Union in the ongoing row over how much each party is owed by the other. ERL is suing the SRU for the £8 million it claims to be owed as part of the five-year deal agreed when Bob Carruthers' consortium took over the pro team last summer. Another writ for £5m alleges that the consortium did not receive a full disclosure of the financial position when it negotiated the purchase of the club from the SRU last year, which led the ERL directors into an under-funded business plan.

The SRU countered last week with a claim for £1.4m, the figure it insists it has pumped in to Edinburgh since last summer, and served notice on ERL to quit Murrayfield. The SRU and ERL both refused to comment yesterday, other than to state that discussions were ongoing. A source close to both parties said: "Lawyers have been meeting over the weekend and continued to talk yesterday, so both sides are at least involved in trying to thrash out an agreement."

The Edinburgh players are training at Dreghorn Barracks on the outskirts of the capital, though this was a deal agreed some time ago to allow the Scotland squad full access to the Murrayfield training facilities including all the available back pitches.

They have pre-season games scheduled now with Tonga, likely to be played on 24 August at a venue to be confirmed, the evening before Scotland play South Africa, then Bath (away) the following week.

It is believed that both parties are close to agreeing a compromise pay-off to ERL, short of the £1.3m ERL have demanded, with the union regaining control of Edinburgh and the private investors walking way.

But there is concern in the SRU camp that despite the almost £1m savings made with the departure of a host of leading stars, they do not have the money to take over the running of the Edinburgh squad in its entirety, despite having closed down the Border Reivers team in May. The arrival of Stephen Larkham from Australia would be a considerable expense that the SRU could do without. But Edinburgh's directors are understood to be determined to ensure that if they hand control of the club back to the SRU, the jobs of all players on the books, and backroom staff, are protected.

Duncan Hodge, the former Scotland stand-off, has confirmed that he has retired as a player and had his contract with Edinburgh terminated, and that he will be pursuing new business opportunities both in and out of rugby this season.

This article was posted on 7-Aug-2007, 06:47 by Hugh Barrow.