Thousands will watch the final of the Bell Lawrie Scottish Schools Cup at Murrayfield tomorrow, but the true national under-18 champions will be identified on Saturday, when the John Lewis Scottish Youth League reaches its climax at the national stadium.

Far fewer will probably see Musselburgh take on Stirling County, but their competition is open to every young player in the country and operates on a league and play-off model which is much better geared towards producing champion sides than the unsatisfactory knockout cup format, which should be scrapped.

It feels harsh to say that, since both competitions boast excellent sponsors, yet their support may have contributed to what seems to be a sense of complacency at Murrayfield regarding under-18 rugby.

That in turn has led to the same problems of fixture congestion that blighted the closing stages of both tournaments last year and which we were promised would be addressed, manifesting themselves differently this season, so leading to the objectionable treatment of holders Howe of Fife, who were thrown out of the youth league play-offs.

It is, then, vital that, instead of the same lame message we received last year - that the SRU will review the competitions at the end of the season - that the matter of improving the quality and intensity of youth rugby competition in Scotland is addressed with some urgency.

In The Herald tomorrow, Cammy Mather, head coach of Watsonians, who have benefited greatly from players produced by tomorrow's schools finalists George Watson's and Merchiston Castle, will look forward to the final with a fascinating analysis of the two schools' respective attitudes to rugby. Sponsors’ support may have contributed to what seems to be a sense of complacency at Murrayfield regarding under-18 rugby.

The SRU's main job, meanwhile, is to address issues raised by Frank Hadden, Scotland's head coach, about Scottish youngsters' lack of preparedness for elite competitive rugby compared with those elsewhere. With the state school system for the most part light years away from being able to compete with the top private schools, the emphasis must be on the club game, since every youngster with any aptitude has access to a local rugby club.

A single youth league competition, regionalised at the initial stage, ahead of play-offs, and into which schools with the capacity to compete could be invited, is the way to improve quality and intensity of competition.

It is not only at under-18 level that root and branch reform is required, and again the aforementioned Mather gave an excellent account, in The Herald last Saturday, of why so many players drift out of the sport after leaving school.

In bidding to stimulate some debate I would, then, like to put forward some thoughts based on a model that an Australian friend told me is used in Sydney club rugby.

Their league structure involves each club facing its rivals each weekend at first, second, third and fourth XV level. On a weighted basis, the results of all four matches are taken into account in the league table upon which titles, promotion and relegation are based, thus cultivating a genuine club ethos.

As Scottish rugby looks to revitalise clubs and, in particular, stimulate youth competition, introducing a similar system, but counting first XV matches, under-20 and then second XV results, in that order, would force all clubs to pay much more attention to development of and retention of players.

It is a radical proposition and may well have to be phased in. Yet there are hugely encouraging signs from around the country that more and more clubs are now heavily engaged in developing players.

Looking at Saturday's finalists, Stirling County's mini-rugby system is something of a national bench-mark, while Musselburgh are also being rewarded for long-term investment in their youngsters tomorrow. Yet one of the most significant developments of late has been at Glasgow Hawks, who are now taking real strides towards becoming a genuine community club rather than merely looking like an amalgam of FP sides.

Under the guidance of Allan Mackintosh, their director of rugby development, and Grant Talbot, their development manager, they have set up an academy which, as well as bringing on players, coaches and referees, also aims to expose the participants to life and business skills through active participation in rugby related business projects centred around the skills required to run an effective sports business.

"We also need new, fresh ideas and younger people tend to have these as they tend not to have so much of the We've tried that and it didn't work' or That'll never work' attitude. If we are going to achieve the strategic targets then new ideas and new ways of working are a must for clubs in Scotland," said Mackintosh, explaining the rationale behind their plans.

As a philosophy, it is not a bad one for everyone in the sport, not least the SRU's community rugby division, to adopt.

This article was posted on 24-Jan-2008, 08:58 by Hugh Barrow.