EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS REPORTS

BILL LOTHIAN


TODAY is August which means that ten years ago this month a change took place in rugby union that could be measured in seismic sporting terms as the words 'amateur' and 'amateurism' were struck from the regulations of the governing body, the International Board.

But if a week is a long time in politics, then a decade is just the blink of an eye in a supposedly trivial pursuit like rugby union; in-fighting that prompted the biggest upheaval in more than a century is continuing right up to the present day.

Anyone in doubt need only weigh up events taking place here in Edinburgh at Watsonians where it seems a schism which has divided the committee is directly linked to the removal of the barricades since what it boils down to is whether to totally embrace commercial backing and all that entails.

But is this not entirely what professionalism is all about, given that once the genie was out of the (amateur) bottle there was no holding back? After all, you cannot be part-pregnant ...

So, in many respects, have traditionalists had it their own way for too long in Scotland? Natural development is locked into things like central contracts which have had the effect - by absolute design perhaps - of restricting entrepreneurial involvement.

Of course, it is possible to sympathise with the so-called old guard. I well remember the implications in local squash around the 1980s when an open game suddenly meant privately-owned clubs trying to improve their league position to attract higher profiles; one method was drafting in paid players of advanced ability which inevitably meant a season or two of mis-matches until levels were found.

Then, I had the feeling my hobby had been hi-jacked and it cannot be too dissimilar in rugby. What must ultimately count, however, is that professionalism means popularity. Nobody provides backing for a nothing sport and this chance to spread the message has got to be better than bobbing along in a backwater despite the period of pain to be gone through.

So it is with rugby, and some sages such as Bob Crampsey, foremost Scottish sports commentator, reckon that the oval ball game, for all the torment and trauma, might actually have surpassed itself in terms of achievement (a 1999 Five Nations Championship) given the start we were obliged to give competing nations through being most closely associated with FP clubs.

Also, Crampsey believes the game's approach through central control, a notion he abhors in cricket, might be more easily justified when seen in the context of the main revenue stream coming through the international game.

"I thought at the time rugby went professional it was unsustainable in Scotland because of the lack of support base," says Crampsey. "For example, at the start, Melrose wreaked havoc yet they were operating from a town population of 4000. How can that be sustainable?

"On the other hand not for the first time Ireland seem to have had a bit more vision by moving their sport away from schools like we have in Scotland to a provincial base.

"What I'm sure about is that for a pro sport to flourish you need to be producing people who are closely attached to it but not necessarily very good. Otherwise where are your officials, referees, linesmen, commentators, etc going to come from?"

Whatever cause for optimism Crampsey has appears to stem from across the Irish Sea in pointing out a transient sports population who will turn up in numbers of around 40,000 to watch top Association Football, Gaelic Games and Rugby Union.

Anything Ireland can do Scotland may also be capable of achieving, is his message.

What cannot be in doubt was the inevitability of professionalism with more and more demands being made on players at the time of the inaugural World Cup in 1987.

If the purpose is enjoyment, though, can such an end have been achieved?

Rob Wainwright, Scotland skipper when the new era arrived, harbours some mixed feelings.

While pleased career options for some now exist the one-time Edinburgh Acads, Watsonians and West Harlepool ace is absolutely certain - and grateful - he performed in a halcyon era.

"Basically it was a question of having to get on with it; never mind whether professionalism would be a good thing or a bad thing because matters were too far gone," recalls Wainwright. "Ten years down the line I'm not sure if rugby is as happy as it was - or as straightforward.

"I'm so glad I enjoyed the amateur era. Looking at some of the players today - and I am not pointing the finger at any particular team or country - it is possible to detect men who are primarily at a job. All right, they are making money, which is wonderful, but what else is going for them?"

Even a home on the remote island of Coll has been no deterrent to Wainwright keeping a keen eye on the scene.

"I played through strange times because over-priced contracts were probably on offer to persuade players to break from their established careers."

The unpredictability that marked the introduction of professionalism was both on and off the pitch and it is possible to detect a certain bewilderment from Wainwright that the super-teams have still not settled into their niche. "Every year I played there seemed to be a different team; in my case it went from Caley Reds to Glasgow Caledonians to Glasgow. And we were regularly playing in different places; the evolution was rapid," he explains. With Edinburgh, Glasgow and Borders changing match times again this season - as announced a few days ago when Friday nights were deemed to be out of favour - the pattern is continuing.

One wonders if it will ever settle down - or whether rumblings these past few days might just be an echo of remarks made by the man who had perhaps the biggest impact of all, Newcastle supremo Sir John Hall.

"Ten years on I look back now and don't think the clubs have had the recognition they deserve," he said.

"Had it not been for us benefactors I believe the sport would have gone to regional rugby like the Southern Hemisphere but that wouldn't have worked.

"That's not how England works. It is all about clubs. People don't support a region, they support a club," added Sir John who bought into the Geordies and set an alternative wage structure while the legions of the English Rugby Union (RFU) committee prevaricated.

Amazingly, perhaps, it was on a website operated by the SRU on behalf of one of its "clubs", Glasgow, that an empathising voice was allowed to prevail last week as the super-teams had season ticket prices announced for them.

"My concern is for the clubs, who after all, are the self-financing part of Scottish rugby. The so-called pro-teams are not going concerns on the basis of season tickets priced at £99 and £79," said one cyber fan

"These prices are only possible as a result of substantial subsidies from Murrayfield. This represents unfair competition for the clubs - subsidised prices so that the pro-teams can compete unfairly with the clubs for spectators on Saturday.

"Where are the pro-teams players going to come from if the clubs are not viable? Oh, I forgot, second-rate immigrants from England, France, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa with the odd Canadian, Argentinian or Italian thrown into the mix!"

So, have the governing body, with their iron grip on the professional scene, been sussed in a way that means better times are on the horizon?

And if, as they say, history teaches then what about wise words written in 1937 by Paul Gallico, an American sports journalist, who penned an article headlined Amateurs? There Ain't None.

His view is that amateurism is all a matter of degree but it certainly suits governing bodies to have people allegedly playing for fun only, as is the stance of the Scottish Rugby Union. Wrote Gallico: "With no amateur athletes there would be no need for amateur governing bodies.

"And these bodies are too fond of the prestige - in some cases social position, in others petty power to rule and regulate the lives of others and to wear pretty gilt badges - to legislate themselves out of business."

A cynical view when applied to the Scottish Rugby Union - or a much-needed dose of realism given that ten years is much too long a period for professionalism not to have taken root given the interest that abounds.

Interest? Well, how many replica jerseys did you see back in 1995? Or how many impromptu games of touch rugby on places like Edinburgh's Meadows? Or how many "live" matches on television. Far fewer, I'll wager.

So if rugby is generating that sort of patronage during hard times - what treasure can be mined during the next ten years?

This article was posted on 1-Aug-2005, 12:57 by Hugh Barrow.