Scotland must Go West for the answers…

In the deep midwinter Scottish smiles were beaming and hearts glowing after a scrappy but convincing victory over Wales.  The revolution was back on track.  A fortnight on however, the winter chill may be shifting but there are no joys of spring for the sorry Scots.  After spectacularly succumbing to early Italian pressure, by the time eighty minutes had passed things were looking pretty frosty for Frank Hadden and his men.

Across the water in a rain soaked Croke, an Irish side seeking historical vengeance and a confidence boost answered their critics in record-breaking style.  England conceded forty points for the first time in their Five or Six Nations history to the rampant men in green.

So how come the once average Irish are now the excellent Irish, while the generally solid Scots have become substandard?  The question has to be asked.  What has changed for things to be so good for Ireland and so bad for Scotland in this new millennium?

The Irish and the Scots have an age old respect and fondness for one another.  This may come in the sharing of similar cultures, drinking habits and dismal weather.  Or it may just be a mutual desire to beat the English.  So why not take this alliance a step further?  Rather than looking for problems within our own structures, why not outsource, import, and take heed of a successful foreign model?

When Abramovich’s billions started bringing home the bacon for Chelsea, it didn’t take long for rivals Manchester United and Liverpool to follow a similar path.  There is no shame in using the example of others to further your own prospects.  It is natural.  It is evolution.

Ireland, who already have bookies paying out on a third Triple Crown in four years, has developed a world class team with genuine strength in depth in most positions.  It has taken them approximately ten years to do this, with the turn of professionalism in 1995 as a starting point.  So what can we do to copy them?

To apply the ethos of Irish rugby to Scotland, firstly we must embrace our professional teams.  Ireland and Scotland have similar populations, yet the maximum capacity a Scottish pro team has ever enjoyed was a shade over 6,000 in this season’s Heineken Cup when Edinburgh defeated Leinster.  And many in that crowd were Leinster fans.  Meanwhile, Ulster, Leinster and Munster all enjoy 10,000 plus at every home game they play.  That’s a lot of money over a season.

The dominance of football can no longer be blamed for poor crowd attendances in Scotland.  Football may be more high profile than across in the Emerald Isle, but as anyone who has observed the sheer vastness of the 82,500 capacity Croke Park will testify, the Irish have the cultural phenomena of Gaelic Football and hurling to contend with as well as football.  Yet they manage to pack out their rugby grounds.

Quite simply, the Scottish public must get off their bums, get over the disintegration of their old clubs, and support their professional teams.  Rugby has taken a step forward and to keep up we must walk in line with it.  Our professional teams are packed with internationalists.  Watching Edinburgh play Leinster or Glasgow versus Munster isn’t far away from watching a full international.  If we can sell out Murrayfield to watch Wales or Ireland, and cram in over 50,000 to watch little known (until now) Italy, why can’t we at least attract double figures of thousands to watch our professional teams?  The same players are on the pitch.  The only difference is it costs less to watch them.  And you can even enjoy a beer in the stands with the money you save.

Of course, the SRU and the Edinburgh Rugby franchise must also make efforts to encourage said bums through the turnstiles of Murrayfield, Hughenden and Netherdale.  Glasgow and the Borders are leading the way here by offering a cut of their gate to the clubs that sell their tickets – cleverly getting those who were once their rivals back onside.

Edinburgh on the other hand are taking an altogether more 21st century approach by introducing new ‘text ticketing’ and streaming online trailers for upcoming matches.

But what the SRU have failed to do where the Irish have succeeded is getting new fans into the terraces.  Non-rugby fans.  They must use the same hook as the Irish and promote their teams to the wider public as a place where they can enjoy a real family sports event, free from the foul-mouthed, lager-louted fan base that populates the football stadia.

Secondly, the SRU may be in debt, but with the franchising out of Edinburgh and improved internal structuring in place since Gordon McKie took the helm, they must use their extra cash to invest more in their players.  Spending to save, so to speak.  The opportunity to have international players on show every week must not be sniffed at.

Having them centrally contracted is no longer enough – they need to be well paid and well kept.  Just this weekend there were murmurs that Scott Murray, Simon Taylor, Rob Dewey and Chris Cusiter – four absolutely vital players - could be starting a new wave of Scottish players to exile these parts.  They must stay.  Dewey is practically gone, but he must be the last. 

Money isn’t the only way to keep players.  Compared to the currently inferior English, many of the Irish players aren’t particularly well paid, with the obvious exceptions of the likes of Brian O’Driscoll.

The Irish internationals are guaranteed an extra month’s holiday in the off season.  This has a two tiered positive impact.  Firstly the obvious benefit of more time off, which means more rest, more recuperation and generally happier players.  But this in turn is cleverly tapered by the IRFU to ensure that the players ‘peak’ in time for the autumn internationals, a point in case being Ireland’s walloping of Australia, South Africa and the Pacific Islanders. 

If the Scottish clubs did this they could perhaps convince their players to stay.  Dewey will become one of the men who takes on the mantle of the go-to guy when Ulster are resting their international centres Paddy Wallace and Andrew Trimble.  Likewise for Taylor and Cusiter if they move across the channel to the gruelling French domestic league.  And no doubt this incentive would also tempt the likes of Rory Lawson, Jim Hamilton, Sean Lamont and Jason White to come home as well, rather than be flogged to death in the financial power struggle of the English Premiership.  Which would in turn attract more fans. 

The SRU and Frank Hadden will obviously be disappointed with Saturday’s result.  That goes without saying.  But it is the players and the fans who will be there long after Hadden, Irvine and McKie step aside.  They must be the priorities.  Perhaps if we take heed of our Irish friends we can address those issues.  Though we should probably wait until after March 10th before we go forming any alliances.

RO

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