The Scotsman
WILLIAM PAUL

ANDY Irvine, one of the world's greatest ever rugby players, was last night elected president of a restructured Scottish Rugby Union, moving the future of the game in Scotland on to fresh and more optimistic ground.

As soon as the result of the 107-64 vote was announced at the annual general meeting at Murrayfield, he told delegates: "Go back to your clubs and tell them this is a new era. All the bickering and infighting is over and there is a new feeling about Scottish rugby. Let's prove to the outside world that we are now a united force and success will follow."

The former Scotland and British Lions full-back, whose reputation and pedigree spans both northern and southern hemispheres, answered his country's call in the hope of restoring some credibility to a game badly damaged by failure on the pitch and ill-served by acrimony among squabbling administrators off it.

The general committee that has run the sport for the last 130 years was formally abolished at the meeting and replaced by a new set-up comprising a decision-making Scottish Rugby Board and an advisory Scottish Rugby Council with Irvine as the figurehead charged with getting Scotland to take the game seriously once more.

Irvine, the holder of 51 Scotland and seven Lions caps, was preferred for the high profile job to the only other candidate, George Blackie, an SRU vice president who was part of the so-called "old guard" on the general committee which forced out chairman David Mackay and chief executive Phil Anderton six months ago.

The fall-out from that unexpected coup led to the sacking of national coach Matt Williams, who achieved only three wins in 17 internationals, and the subsequent departure of director of rugby Ian McGeechan, currently with the Lions in New Zealand where no Scots have been selected for today's Test side for the first time since 1950.

But the fall-out from that episode and the widespread loss of prestige of Scottish rugby within the sport worldwide was a significant factor in persuading 53-year-old Irvine that he should respond to "a sense of duty" and give back something to the game that has given him so much.

He steps back into the centre after years of virtual exile on the fringes. He was last seriously involved at a high level in 1998 but quit then, along with fellow ex-international John Jeffrey, in protest at a perceived lack of democracy within the organisation.

Jeffrey has since returned in the guise of manager of Scotland's under-21s while Irvine has, until now, concentrated on his career as chairman of a property consultancy business and confined his involvement in rugby to being weekend coach of schoolboys at his club, Heriot's.

Irvine campaigned on a promise to return the feelgood factor by promoting club rugby as the basis for feeding players into the professional and international teams, and on the importance of the new corporate governance structure which will concentrate power in the hands of whoever is appointed as the next chief executive.

"Rugby in Scotland has been in difficulties since the game turned professional, and in the last 10 years the SRU has just not got its act together," he said. "I genuinely believe we now have a structure in place that can be a platform to press ahead and recover lost ground. Basically rugby was in the hands of well-meaning amateurs who were not capable of running the game. The new council is a blend of experienced campaigners and young blood bursting with enthusiasm and ideas."

He was not entirely dismissive of the old committee, saying that its members had acted in good faith for very good reasons and had devoted huge amounts of time and effort to the game, but the time was now ripe to change the way things were done so that Scotland could reclaim its status as a rugby-playing nation.

He wants, in the fullness of time, to see an enlarged playing base supporting four professional teams and the national side. To achieve that Scotland is going to have to sort out its "fragile finances" and learn to be "cleverer than most" in avoiding the kind of expensive mistakes that had been made in the past.

At international level, he says he prefers to see home-grown coaches and players rather than imported foreigners and is certain to back Edinburgh pro-team boss Frank Hadden as the next national coach.

Only two members of the new council - George Jack and Norman Douglas - were part of the rebel group on the old general committee which forced the resignations of Anderton and Mackay. The new board will have four non-executives from the council sitting on it. The council's first task will be to find a new chief executive whose job, according to Irvine, can be likened to "playing against much better teams with bigger packs and faster backs".

He said: "We've got a business plan. We've got a strategy. What we need now is a new board and a new chief executive who will have the most important job at Murrayfield."

Figures presented to the agm showed that the SRU's overdraft increased by £3 million over the last financial year to £21.5 million. This included remuneration of £400,000 to outgoing chief executive Anderton, a £500,000 loss on the autumn international against Australia that was played at Hampden Park in Glasgow, and a £250,000 loss on the hosting of the under-21 World Cup in the summer of 2004.

The remuneration committee reported that it had taken independent legal advice on the situation surrounding Anderton and it was "a matter for future decision as to what further action, if any, should be taken by the Union". Fred McLeod, interim chief executive, said the matter was in the hands of the SRU's lawyers.

McLeod also told the meeting that there was an unbudgeted cost of £705,000 associated with the dismissal of Matt Williams and his coaching partners Willie Anderson and Brett Igoe, and the three chief executives of the professional teams who lost their jobs during the year. The amount will appear in next year's accounts.

Last night's meeting also agreed to reduce the number of teams in Premiership 1 from 12 to 10 from 2006-2007 with three clubs relegated, and one promoted, in all Premiership leagues and National League Division 1 at the end of the coming season.

This article was posted on 25-Jun-2005, 11:14 by Hugh Barrow.