THE HERALD REPORTS


Exclusive by NEIL DRYSDALE December 01 2007
Gordon McKie, the chief executive of the Scottish Rugby Union, has confirmed that his organisation is in urgent discussions with their Irish and Welsh counterparts over the "unsatisfactory" format of the Magners League.

McKie, speaking exclusively to The Herald, admitted that all three unions had to shoulder some of the responsibility for the failure to transform the Celtic event into a tournament on some kind of equal footing with the Guinness Premiership.

But he reserved particular criticism for the Welsh, following their decision to seriously weaken their professional sides last weekend in order to fulfil a meaningless match against South Africa in Cardiff.

advertisementMcKie did not attempt to pass the buck for the Scots' own problems, which led to the Borders side going out of business at the end of last season. But he has chosen a risky path by talking about the issue publicly, especially given that some of the issues he wishes to address may end up damaging Glasgow and Edinburgh's hopes of qualifying for future Heineken Cup competitions.

"We have to be honest and admit that the Magners League has been damaged by all the unions at some point or another," he said. "Ireland have tended not to pick their strongest sides ahead of European matches, while Wales have committed themselves to participating in the EDF Cup against English sides, which has had a serious knock-on effect for the other teams in the Magners tournament."

McKie added that he and the IRFU and WRU chiefs have been pressing for changes to the structure since before the start of the World Cup last September.

"As for the SRU, our difficulties are well documented. We had no option but to close the Borders, and I am as disappointed as anybody else with the crowds of 1600 and 1700 which we have witnessed at recent Glasgow and Edinburgh matches, but I think we have to look at the whole raison d'etre of the Magners League.

"As things stand, there is no tangible prize for winning the competition, no threat of relegation, a terrible hiatus every time the Six Nations Championship gets under way, and, because of the scheduling clashes which occur from the Welsh clubs taking part in this EDF event, there is no shape or consistency to the Celtic League - it just splutters along."

McKie believes that it is too late for any fundamental revision of the Magners structure this season, but confirmed that he is convinced a radical new format has to be in place for the beginning of the 2008-09 campaign.

"For that to happen, we have to sort things out before the start of the Six Nations, so it is a tight time frame, but I would hope that we can reach the necessary agreements to transform the Celtic League into a truly powerful, commercially attractive competition," said McKie.

"There is a general agreement that the present format is unbalanced and a turn-off for crowds: how, for instance, are Edinburgh supposed to build up supporter loyalty when they don't have another home match until January? Must the Welsh continue to appear in the EDF tournament? And what do we do throughout the Six Nations to keep the Magners League from falling off the radar?

"But we have to be innovative as well. I can envisage us devising a Super Play-off weekend, which would be televised, and allow the clubs involved to collect a trophy and some serious prize money in the full glare of publicity.

"Whatever alterations are made, they have to recognise that England and France have their national championships functioning properly, whereas ours does the basics - that is, it gets players ready for international action - without stirring hearts and minds in Scotland and Wales."

Cynics might respond that McKie's argument is undermined by the capacity crowds who still turn up at Ravenhill and Thomond Park on a regular basis for Magners contests.

The chief executive might also be struggling to maintain Scotland's dual complement in the Heineken Cup after his denunciation of the WRU.

But, ultimately, the Magners League remains a means to an end, and that isn't enough. One only hopes that the Scots don't end up suffering as a consequence of McKie spelling out some harsh realities.

This article was posted on 1-Dec-2007, 08:12 by Hugh Barrow.