DAVID SOLE
Edinburgh rugby’s new home has been officially opened on the back pitches at Murrayfield, and while the atmosphere in the smaller ground will undoubtedly be more intense than the echoes of Murrayfield, there are some grumbles about the new facility.
First, spectators have to negotiate the pillars holding up the roof. If your seat is immediately behind one of them, you’ll leave the game with a crick in the neck.
Secondly, the lack of facilities. For the warm-up matches, the President’s Suite in Murrayfield wasn’t open, so there was nowhere for the loyal army of fans to get a drink in relative comfort. That may change over time.
Finally, and this last moan is not just restricted to Edinburgh fans, but applies to those who follow Glasgow Warriors too.
The fact that professional rugby has moved to a Saturday and away from a Friday night is a source of great irritation.
The rationale for this move has yet to be fully explained but the implications on Scottish club rugby are significant.
In the past, fans could follow their professional team on a Friday night before heading to their local club on a Saturday to experience the grassroots game.
Now they have a choice to make between the professional game and the amateur one.
Of course, if they want Friday night rugby they can always watch the Super 6, but those clubs don’t have quite the same pulling power as Edinburgh or Glasgow.
There are many who resent this change and who have been quite vociferous about it, yet the silence from the organisers has been deafening.
It looks like fans will have to continue to make that choice for the time being.
Meanwhile, Scotland’s women face an uphill task to qualify for the next Rugby World Cup.
They lost their first match in the group as Italy ran out winners by 38-13 earlier last week. They face Spain today in a must-win match before their final group match against Ireland in six days time.
Two teams progress from the group – the winner will join Canada and the USA in Group B at the main competition, while whoever finishes second goes into another round of qualifying matches.
Spain will be no pushover, as they defeated the Irish by the narrowest of margins, winning 8-7, which hurt Irish pride.
To stand a chance of moving to the next round, the Scots girls will have to win all of their remaining pool games while also relying on that if teams end up even, then tries scored, bonus points and such like go their way.
It is a big ask, but not beyond their reach.
‘ Many resent that pro rugby has moved to Saturday