The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Time for Scots rugby to shine
LET’S NOT beat around the bush — Scottish rugby has been a bit of a laughing stock in recent years. It seems that pretty much every February and March the Six Nations have to be endured rather than enjoyed.
This year was as bad as it gets, what with the record defeats to England and Wales.
A nd our professional club teams haven’t exactly done much to raise Scottish rugby’s stock.
There was a Heineken Cup semi-final for Edinburgh and Glasgow have made the RaboDirect semi-finals, but nobody remembers losing semi-finalists.
It definitely feels that the game has got a chance to change its perception.
First up there’s the £20 million invested into Scottish rugby by BT.
You’ll struggle to find anyone who thinks the SRU haven’t done a great deal here, and if the money is invested in the right areas it could be crucial to the sport’s development.
But just as important as getting grassroots investment is getting success at the sharp end.
A nd that’s where Glasgow Warriors come in, having stormed into the Rabo final.
If they beat Leinster on Saturday it will probably be the biggest result for a Scottish team since the game went professional.
It can be the result that earns the respect of other rugby nations. That’s the only way you can get that — by winning.
The fact that the match is Brian O’Driscoll’s last ever only adds to its profile.
If Glasgow win everybody will know about it, and there will be a spin-off in terms of confidence for them.
It will be the same for Edinburgh — they’ll think “if Glasgow can do it, why can’t we”.
A nd, in turn, the players will take that into the national squad.
The Warriors players got a curling lesson from us a few months ago and you could tell from that how competitive they were!
I know Chris Cusiter, and he’ll be wanting to make sure his last match for Glasgow is a momentous one.
Like St Johnstone a couple of weeks ago, Glasgow have the chance to make history, and I think they’ll do it.