Gender has nothing to do with me being elected president
“I hope I have right qualities for the role”
DEE BRADBURY side-stepped the Germaine Greer references this weekend as she created her own piece of history by becoming the first-ever female president of the Scottish Rugby Union.
Instead, she insists that while her appointment is a significant breakthrough for women in Scottish sport, her gender has nothing to do with the decision.
‘I’m not going to stand up like Germaine Greer,’ said Bradbury, who has served as vice-president for two years before stepping up to replace Rob Flockhart.
‘That’s not the reason why I’m here. I’m here because I hope I’ve got the right qualities to bring to the role and it’s incidental that I’m female.
‘Thirty-three per cent of our staff at Scottish Rugby are female. We have got far more representation on council and board from females. Lesley Thomson, Rosy Hume, myself and now Hazel Swankie. I would like to think women are there for the right reasons — not simply because of their gender.’
As a former Police Scotland Detective Constable, Bradbury knows how to solve problems. She will need all those skills over the next few months as she take over at a turbulent time.
She will no sooner have her feet under the desk than she will have to deal with the final report from Lesley Thomson QC into the sacking of Keith Russell, father of Scotland international Finn, which is set to be published in the first week of September.
Russell sued for unfair dismissal and won his case and is set to walk away with a six-figure payout in compensation.
Thomson’s report is likely to be highly critical of the SRU for the way they handled the situation.
Bradbury will also be heavily involved in two other major reports — one into the governance of the SRU and another regarding how the amateur leagues are structured.
Throw into the mix a significant amount travelling and glad-handing in the run up to the 2019 World Cup and arguably she will be the busiest president for many a year.
Bradbury backed Flockhart’s decision to apologise to club delegates at the AGM for the position the governing body put themselves in over the sacking of Russell. But the new president insists she knows nothing about the alleged toxic atmosphere at Murrayfield under chief executive Mark Dodson following the Russell fiasco.
‘I don’t recognise any of that,’ she said. ‘I’ve been part of Scottish rugby from the periphery, as a player, a coach, to where I am today. If that culture existed, I wouldn’t want to be part of that. And I very much do want to be part of it, which I think is evidenced.
‘That apology was for the place we got ourselves into. The clubs were entitled to some humility and that’s what we’ve displayed.’
Bradbury, whose son Magnus plays for Edinburgh and Scotland and other son Fergus is in the SRU academy set-up, was a relatively late-comer to rugby after excelling in other sports. She was 38 when she went to the Mull Sevens and was first bitten by the bug.
‘I always had a background in sport — netball and athletics,’ said the 52-year-old. ‘I was at Mull Sevens one year when I was 38 and I thought: “I need that in my life”.
‘So I spoke to a girl I played netball with, who was Jonah Lomu’s cousin believe it or not, who had come to Scotland on a back-packing holiday, and we set up the ladies section at Oban Lorne Rugby club and it went from strength to strength. I played rugby rom my late 30s and loved it.
‘I also did all the different roles at the club, washing strips, driving mini-buses, coaching the minis. Then I was asked to join the SRU women’s forum and progressed through the ranks to where I find myself today.
‘My sons Fergus and Magnus had watched Mull Sevens, too, and expressed a desire that they wanted to play and I was so glad that I did.’
Her vice-president for the next two years will be Ian Barr. He is a vastly-experienced rugby administrator, who had been president of Lasswade Rugby Club for the 15 years.
Barr is confident Bradbury has what it takes to ensure the problems of the past are dealt with and there will be a positive future off the park.
‘It is a difficult time,’ said Barr. ‘As Mark Dodson alluded to, turnover has gone up and professional rugby is going to be a difficult beast to feed.
‘With my leadership skills, I can help to pull the SRU council together and I will be delighted to help Dee in her role.
‘I am looking forward to working with Dee so we can get all the messages to her from the clubs to help her carry out her role.
‘I have known Dee for a long time and she is a very able person. She comes from a good club background and both of her boys have been involved in professional rugby.
‘She has an understanding of how the pro games works and has a knowledge of the game from the bottom end up to the top level.’