Borders' now ex-coach Steve Bates made a very interesting point recently - he said that Scotland could still keep a third group (outwith from Edinburgh and Glasgow) of pro players centrally contracted, but farm them out on loan to other clubs.

This could mean we still have the depth of players, but without the running / setup costs of another pro team. Plus other clubs (e.g. English premiership) would be happy to have them, as it is an extra top flight player on their books, but the SRU are paying their wages!

Sounds like a smart idea to me...

... agreed it has some positives - but I fear that the damage is the amount of debt the SRU are in - and therefore the number of players that could take this route.

Clubs outwith the Scottish 'control' will always manipulate the position and it might be difficult to get the expected benefits.

I think we should be positive and slowly re-build the past strengths in Scottish rugby but we're not ideally suited to the professional game and it will be hard.

Not ideally suited? We are ideally suited - we just don't have people willing to get off their bums and embrace pro rugby. So called 'Borders fans' were up in arms when the team was disbanded - the press made it seem like the heart was being ripped out of the region. But they had no heart. They could barely muster a crowd over 1000 all season, yet when it came to the match against Ulster when they were 'protesting' against the closure, three times that amount arrived.

Sorry Borders fans but it was too little, too late. You think the SRU always had it in for you, which may or may not be true, but to be honest it is as much through your own complacency as anything else. No governing body could afford to run a team that nobody bothered to support week in week out.

I agree with what you're saying speedy but my point is that rugby in Scotland will struggle to get the attendance numbers that make the professional game feasible ( just look at what the English and Welsh clubs achieve - and also rugby league).

I don't think it is just laziness to support a professional team - I think the club rugby culture still has priority in enthusiasts' minds over the pro teams. This is possibly more evident in the Borders, which I reckon is historically the hotbed of the game in this country.

Times change and I don't think it's impossible to make it work and I say again we should try to be positive - any suggestions?

I think the key to it long term is young people. The SRU (and Edinburgh Rugby) should contact all the schools in their area and offer match night packages for the school at a diocunted rate - maybe £2 a ticket per child, in a bid to try to get an extra few hundred, or more, along to the game.

The reason pro rugby is thriving in places such as Ireland is becaus the kids have been going along for the last ten years - now some of them are bringing their own kids.

Edinburgh and Glasgow now have enough recognised internationals and role models to enthuse any kids to come along and watch Scotland's best.

Fully agree - the sooner some realistic and reasonably ambitious marketing strategy is drawn up the better. The potential is there - let's hope it can be realised.