EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS REPORTS

Petrie insists pro teams not pressurised


GLASGOW WARRIORS captain Jon Petrie insists Scotland's three professional teams will not be under pressure to justify their existence this season.

The Scottish Rugby Union are reportedly more than £25million in debt, but back in February the body's interim chief executive Fred McLeod pledged to support Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Borders for three more years with increased funding.

However, his permanent successor Gordon McKie seemed reluctant to guarantee that when he was appointed last week.

But Petrie is confident the players, on Glasgow's part at least, will ignore all the off-field problems and focus their energies on the pitch when the new season begins.

He said: "It's no secret that Scottish rugby has had its difficulties for a while but things are starting to get sorted out on the business front and with that the playing front, so we're hoping for a very successful season.

"The future of the three professional clubs doesn't concern me at the moment, all we can do really is get on with the job of playing and leave the business side of things to the guys who know how to do it best.

"There's always pressure to go out and win your matches but in the past couple of seasons we've been in something of a transitional phase."

This article was posted on 16-Aug-2005, 13:23 by Hugh Barrow.