DAVID SOLE
It has been a very busy week for news in Scottish rugby, with a host of different headlines.
Sir Bill Gammell’s Independent Corporate Governance and Business Review is beginning to surface, and will be circulated to clubs early next month for their consideration and views.
The shadow of “independence” looms large, with many considering Gammell and Norman Murray (who was Gammell’s chairman at Cairn Energy) far from independent.
The content of the report will give a sense of how independent the perspectives really are in due course.
Meanwhile, Mark Dodson and his colleagues will be rubbing their hands with glee at the announcement that, finally, the deal to sell 27% of the Pro14 has finally gone through.
It is like winning the lottery for the Scottish Rugby Union, with it benefiting from a £35 million windfall – as will the other Unions involved.
CVC, the private equity giant, will take over the running of the commercialisation of the league, so you can expect some changes on the horizon.
The real question is what Dodson & Co will do with the money.
There will be pressure to fund a third professional team in Scotland. But, equally, the windfall could be used to reduce debt further as the new
‘ There will be pressure to fund a third professional team
stadium for Edinburgh at the back of Murrayfield will be costly.
One can only hope the SRU will keep the money in Scotland rather than looking at more ventures outside of the country, as they have done recently with investments in France and the USA.
It was also announced that Scotland will be the first country to face the new Rugby World Cup champions in an international match. The national team will head to South Africa in the summer for two tests, followed by a test match against the All Blacks in New Zealand.
It is the first time the Scots will have undertaken a tour of this nature, with three test matches against the best sides in the world in the summer, for a number of years.
Proving yourself against the best used to be commonplace for Scottish touring sides, so this itinerary will be a great testing ground for Gregor Townsend’s squad and an opportunity for some of his younger talent to benchmark themselves against the very best.
This is a much better prospect than tours to second-tier nations, which are far less demanding.
Finally, it was with great sadness to hear that Tom Smith, the Scotland and Lion loosehead prop, is suffering from stage four cancer in his colon, liver and brain.
Small in stature, but a giant on the field, Smith was a phenomenally-talented player doing things few other props could contemplate.
The rugby world will close ranks to support this great man against his most demanding opponent. We all wish him well.