Scotland on Sunday reports
Are foreign players good for the Scottish club game?

YES:

ALLY DONALDSON, CURRIE COACH
EVERY Scottish Premier 1 club have, at some point or another, brought foreign players in and Currie RFC are no different, with Grant Nolan being the first in 1989. Almost without exception all these foreign players add significantly to the quality of their team and the competition.

We make no apology for signing overseas players who are brought over to strengthen the 1st XV. For us at Currie maintaining our position in Premier 1 is of paramount importance and if we are in a position to compete for honours so much the better. As a club on the outskirts of Edinburgh where five other Premier 1 teams operate we are disadvantaged when it comes to recruiting players. We are regularly referred to as "unfashionable" and feel we have to run very hard just to stand still.

This fact was highlighted a few seasons ago when, having won the league, we still had to fight hard to attract any new players to the club. Additionally one of our best young 1st XV players was approached and moved to another Edinburgh club despite the fact we had finished higher in the league than that club for the previous three seasons.

We are fortunate to have a core of very loyal, talented players such as Andy Adam, John Cox, Richard Snedden, Ross Weston and Mark Cairns who have been at the club a long time. We have also developed some very promising youngsters; four of our players were involved with Scotland Under-19 last season and our Colts team reached the Scottish Final. If we were to struggle or drop out of Premier 1 how many of these boys would move elsewhere? Premier 1 rugby is central to Currie's future as a first class club and we bring in overseas players to ensure this.

There are many examples of very successful overseas players at a variety of Scottish clubs. Of our current team Johnny Smith and Andrew Binikos have been here for three years while previously both Kent Rae and Nick Armstrong captained Currie and a number of foreign players have played for the club international team. I can understand criticism that foreign players hinder domestic talent but maybe home-grown players can benefit from one foreigner with a different attitude and ideas.

If you look even higher up there are numerous examples of overseas players representing Scotland. Many people forget Nathan Hines first came here to play a season for Gala from Wagga Wagga in Australia but we were all proud of him as our representative in the Lions squad. Wasn't Sean Lineen brought over to Scotland for a year by Boroughmuir and look at his contribution to Scottish rugby.




Published Date: 13 September 2009
NO:

JOHN BEATTIE, WEST COACH
WRITING this before yesterday's match, West had played two games and won a grand total of none. Like every coach I know that the players at the club's disposal have certain strengths and possibly a few weaknesses. Am I tempted to bring in players? I already have, and one is a New Zealander, David Bygrave, who is studying at Glasgow University and turns out to be a fantastic lad. Would I be tempted to bring in some more players? I'll come back to that.

I suppose the reality of Premier 1 rugby now is that it's semi-professional at many levels and to pretend it's anything else is nonsense. We all know that some clubs – not all – pay players. Cash in hand, or a perk that would otherwise have to be paid for by the recipient, is a payment – ask the Inland Revenue if you are unsure.

Another fact about our top league is that it isn't merely the feeder system to the professional game we all imagine it to be. No, no, no, there are other things at stake, with pride among them. Premier 1 clubs are full of dreams, they have ambition, they like to win, being in Premier 1 confers a certain status. The clubs can raise some money from sponsors, and if a few bucks thrown in a certain direction help them win a crucial game or two then that's the way it is. To assume anything else is naïve.

Is it tempting to spend some money though? You bet. It's the football model in that those with the most money get the best players and win things. But is it right? Is it right that I can go to the committee and get a playing budget and have a look to see if I can get four or five good players to guarantee that the club stays up? Isn't the best story in Scottish rugby Selkirk, who finished fifth last season with a home-grown squad?

I've been one of the staunchest advocates of a "Scots only" Premier 1 for as long as I can remember. But I am old and daft enough to know that I am not always right and that even under my watch West brought in players from overseas. We did it in Premier 3. They were appalling.

A "Scots only" theory depends on a few things: clubs would have to agree to a voluntary limit. The standard of the Premiership would have to be high enough that bringing in a few overseas players would have a marginal effect. Also, the standard of individual Scottish players would have to be good enough to ensure overseas players would make no difference. Sounds like a far smaller Premiership to me.

I believe the Premiership should be for domestic players, but at the moment I actually agree that is totally unworkable and maybe, just maybe, if you can't afford something then you just can't have it.

This article was originally posted on 13-Sep-2009, 06:37 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 13-Sep-2009, 06:39.