LET’S TALK
SRU still eager to extend the deals of Cockerill and Townsend despite finance shortfall of £18million
THE SRU are determined to press on in their attempts to extend the contracts of both Gregor Townsend and Richard Cockerill, despite the crippling financial effects of the Covid crisis. Chief executive Mark Dodson revealed on Friday that the SRU are currently facing an £18million black hole in their accounts.
They have already been forced to borrow money from the bank to help bridge the deficit and also hope to make savings of up to £14m across the business over the coming year to offset the losses.
But, with Scotland head coach Townsend and Edinburgh counterpart Cockerill out of contract next summer, Dodson is adamant that negotiations will not take a back seat despite the current climate.
Asked if it is still a matter of priority, Dodson said: ‘Yeah, as much as it can be. Our list of priorities changes often at the moment, given the circumstances. But I’d say it’s in the top 10 priorities that we’ve got.
‘That’s one of the things we’ll try to push on with. The reason being that, any new players that want to join us over the next year or two will want to know who they’re playing for.
‘We can’t have the World Cup in 2023 without getting to a point in time where Gregor is or is not the head coach. The same for Richard.
‘With the changing budget and changing group of players, it’s important the players know who they’re going to be playing for.
‘Whether that’s Richard or whether it’s not, I intend to push on with those things and hopefully secure both of those individuals.
‘They’re both happy to talk to me about it, which is a good sign. They understand what they want to achieve and they’re telling me what they want from me to be able to do the best job they can. We have two outstanding coaches and we’d be smart to try to keep them.’
As part of the SRU’s cost-cutting measures, both Townsend and Cockerill agreed to defer 25 per cent of their salaries from the period spanning April through until the end of August.
Many players were also asked to take a cut, some of which ranged from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, depending on their salary.
With that period now set to expire in a few weeks, Dodson (below) admitted that it may be inevitable that the SRU will look to extend it.
Asked if Townsend and Cockerill may have to accept further cuts or deferrals should they sign a new deal in the immediate future, he said: ‘That’s a distinct possibility. We’re going into this process knowing full well what we need to be committed to.
‘The guys are smart. They know what we need to be doing. So it’s not that any new contract will obviate the need for cuts. ‘They understand that this will be from May 2021 onwards, not before then. The guys know how things work.
‘They’re not naïve and they’re not going into the conversations blinded. They’ve got agents who’ll advise them. But the relationship we have with them means we can have the fullest, frankest exchange possible. There’s no problem.’
With Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh set to return with a derby clash in the Guinness Pro14 on August 22, Dodson is wary of a potential raft of injuries for both sides given the lengthy lay-off.
Part of the measures taken to combat such a scenario of either squad being decimated by injuries is to blood some of the Scotland Sevens players into the squads of both pro teams.
‘If we have an incredible raft of injuries that makes a squad less competitive, we’ll deal with that when we come to it,’ said Dodson.
‘But one reason we’re drafting some of our Sevens players into the squads is to try to help prevent that from happening.
‘Our ambition is that we must stay competitive. If we don’t stay competitive at the top end of the game, then we won’t keep the best coaches and the best players.
‘We will have to reduce costs in certain areas in line with the Welsh, Irish and Italians. So there will be reductions in the budgets. What they’ll be and how deep they’ll be will depend on our continuing financial performance.’
One area in which the SRU have been able to shuffle their pack has been in the backroom coaching department.
It was announced earlier this week that John Dalziel has moved from Glasgow to join Townsend and the national team as the new forwards coach.
Kelly Brown will also return to Glasgow, having previously worked in roles with the Saracens academy and the Scottish national team.
‘I was particularly pleased to be able to announce John Dalziel and Kelly Brown,’ said Dodson. ‘That had been long in the planning.
‘When I first got here, there was a lot of criticism about the number of coaches in our Scottish game. Kenny Murray was one of the few.
‘John came through after that and did a terrific job. Kelly is coming back after doing a job with the national squad and Saracens.
‘Hopefully it shows we’re developing a cohort of Scottish coaches. We’ve got a key spine of Scottish coaches coming through now at all levels.’