THE HERALD TODAY
KEVIN FERRIE, Chief Rugby Writer February 27 2009

Having justified a decision to eject Cumbernauld and St Boswells from the Scottish Cup on the basis that the domestic season could not be extended beyond May 10, the SRU has reneged on that by rescheduling another match to May 17.

In issuing his lengthy explanation as to why the teams had to be thrown out of the competition only last week in an attempt to ease fixture congestion, sheriff David Mackie, chairman of the SRU's championship committee, claimed the season must end with cup finals day on May 10.

In setting the background to the decision he wrote: ". . . the necessity of rescheduling postponed cup and league fixtures meant that dates free of championship fixtures were all but exhausted, the committee having noted that some postponed league fixtures were already being set down for 9th May, 2009, the penultimate day of the entire season and the day before the cup final on 10th May."

In that same statement, Mackie went on to say: "A resolution of the two outstanding cup round 3 fixtures would considerably ease the log jam of postponed fixtures that was developing, would enable the cup competition to be restored to its proper schedule, and would free a number of clubs to play off outstanding league fixtures which were otherwise destined to be played in late April or May. The likelihood of the committee having to consider the playing of outstanding league fixtures beyond the official end of the season on May 10 could be avoided."

Yet it has not been avoided on the basis of the latest revised fixture list that was published yesterday since a National League Division 1 match between Cambuslang and Langholm has now been re-scheduled for May 17.

In short, it seems Langholm's commitments to Borders Sevens tournaments have been deemed more important than national tournaments.

As noted in The Herald yesterday, it was observed that embarrassed officials may attempt to divide and rule clubs by stirring up a Borders v city row over dispensations relating to sevens tournaments.

However that would only be to distract from the main issue which is what is widely seen as the unfairness of the decision to oust Cumbernauld and St Boswells on the basis that they were lower in the league table than their prospective opponents.

The key point now is that, regardless of the reason, it seems that it is accepted that league fixtures can be pushed back beyond May 10, in which case - setting aside the obvious solution of using midweek dates - there should have been no difficulty in rescheduling two rounds of cup ties.

An SRU spokesman said that, because Cambuslang are playing on every weekend to the last game of the season, the clubs had been allowed to decide among themselves when to play the fixture.

The use of similar flexibility in the case of Cumbernauld v East Kilbrdie and St Boswells v Linlithgow might have avoided an apparent miscarriage of justice.

After a meeting yesterday, the SRU stated they will discuss possible amendments to the competition rules in order to avoid a repeat of what has been an embarrassing situation. The statement read: "Following a meeting this afternoon of the Scottish Rugby Board, consideration was given to the recent decision of the Championship Committee in respect of the elimination of Cumbernauld RFC and St Boswells RFC from the Scottish Hydro Electric Cup.

"After careful consideration of the facts, including helpful submissions from Cumbernauld RFC, the board indicated that it was satisfied that the decision of the Championship Committee was competent and should be left to stand.

"However, the Board acknowledged the concerns raised following the decision taken by the Championship Committee and will be discussing with the Championship Committee possible amendments to the competition rules to ensure that this, or similar types of situations, can be dealt with in a more certain manner in the future.

"The Board appreciates that the decisions of the Championship Committee can be difficult ones to make. It also recognises that local rugby clubs are at the centre of ensuring that rugby develops and grows across Scotland. Any amendments to the rules will take these factors into account.


Laughable defence of Scottish Cup decision
Does David Mackie, or indeed any of the SRU championship commitee, live in the real world?

His defence of the decision to eliminate Cumbernauld and St Boswells rugby clubs from the SHE Scottish Cup (Fans With Laptops, February 26,) would have been laughable had it not been so serious. If we accept that the charges of cowardice and/or arrogance were wide of the mark what are we left with? The indisputable evidence demonstrates that the decision made lacks any understanding of the heart and soul of competition (rugby or otherwise).

If we were to take the decision made to its natural conclusion, then there would be only one outcome: the SHE Scottish Cup would be competed for by the Premiership clubs alone and the SHE Shield would then be competed for by those in national leagues 1-3. The remaining teams would then be free to compete for the bowl or something else.

This would ease congestion in the fixture list. It might also kill off any ambition in the lower leagues. However, that doesn't seem to matter to Mr Mackie et al.

A serious alternative would be the one which has been suggested for as long as I can remember - run the season over the spring, summer and autumn months.

Furthermore, I'd like to offer my congratulations to Howe of Fife at the weekend.

Jim Brown, Glasgow

This article was originally posted on 27-Feb-2009, 08:25 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 27-Feb-2009, 08:33.