THE Rucker is aware that he has upset the Scottish Rugby Union’s high command in the past with some dazzling exclusives, but I reckon this one that I am revealing today may be the most upsetting yet.
I wish I could claim that it came from deep inside the bowels of Murrayfield or was even picked up in a pub in Edinburgh, but alas I must confess that the tale comes from the sports pages of a newspaper in the south of France. Sometimes, that is how journalism works.
It transpires that the SRU are negotiating a partnership with the Stade Nicois club in the city of Nice. Apparently, that club’s managers think it’s a done deal, which will no doubt come as a surprise to the member clubs of the SRU, who are, after all, supposed to own the union and not the other way around.
The deal is for players and coaches contracted to Scottish Rugby to go over there, presumably to develop and learn the French way of playing – I’m all for that. Any foreign experience is good for our youngsters.
It may be only two or three players at a time but I suspect the SRU, will have a tough time selling this one as it still represents Scottish resources going to a French club.
Interestingly the article mentions the name of Peter Murchie of Glasgow Warriors as a potential recruit. Since Stade Nicois play in Federal 2, effectively France’s fourth division, that might be just a piece of wishful thinking on the French part.
The main “partnership” thrust of the article does appear to be true, as I have confirmed its essentials with an SRU source.
What will make this interesting to many observers of Scottish rugby is that it is well known that the governance working party of the SRU has recommended that the council of the union should no longer have a member representing the interests of the exiles.
To all intents and purposes, that was always a job done by someone from London Scottish, but we all know of the difficulties that the SRU and that club have had in recent years.
One can only hope that the French deal has been thoroughly investigated by the executives and the Board of the SRU. The Council of the union may simply roll over and accept everything that they are ordered to do, so don’t expect any serious questions from that department.
Presumably all these arrangements will be brought up at the AGM, including the end of the exiles’ representation on the Council, when hopefully someone will try to get answers as to why it is OK to support a team in France but not one in London.
Or maybe the SRU is just thinking ahead to post-Brexit Britain, in which case I doff my scrum cap to them as they are clearly more aware of what will happen after March 31, 2019, than even Prime Minister Theresa May herself. Or perhaps not.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here