It’s time for the SRU to answer private investment questions

The ‘For Sale’ signs are about to go up at edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors, which has to be a worry for those involved in Scottish rugby.

The SRU will hold a special general meeting on October 28 when members will vote on a rule change to allow the pro clubs to be sold to private investors.

In the short-term, the SRU will actively seek private investment into both clubs, although, they concede nobody is waiting in the wings to put in their cash.

They claim they are looking for a major multi-national company or wealthy individual to take a minority shareholding. With running costs of around £7million a year, don’t expect many to come running with open cheque-books.

The SRU worry that, without an influx of new money, both edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors will fall behind the cash-rich clubs in england and France.

That is a commendable reason to go to the market but there are several worrying questions yet to be answered by SRU chief executive Mark Dodson on the matter.

The main issue surrounds the vital backing Scottish rugby receive from broadcasting giants BT. They paid £20m for the naming rights for Murrayfield which brings in £5m a year until May 2018.

Without that cash, there will be a hole in the SRU finances. Are the SRU trying to move early to find new sponsors, or investors as they like to call them, in case BT pull the plug?