Scottish rugby season could be over this weekend . . .
WHEN does the 2016-17 rugby season end? Presuming we regard the summer tours as being part of the close season, May 27 is as good a date as any – the date of the PRO12 final in Dublin.
Or how about May 13 – the date of the Champions Cup final at Murrayfield? Or even, for those clubs who do not get into the PRO12 playoffs, May 6, the last round of fixtures of the regular season.
You can take your pick, of course, depending on which competition you are most interested in and which team you support.
When it comes to Edinburgh and Glasgow, however, there is a clear danger that, for all practical purposes, the season could come to an end this weekend.
Both are involved in European quarter-finals: Edinburgh in the Challenge Cup against La Rochelle, Glasgow in the Champions Cup against Saracens. If they are knocked out, they will be all but reduced to spectators for the best part of two months as the season approaches its climax.
Of course, the absence of a safety net is one of the joys of knock-out competition, and the main reason it has an attraction very different to league action. Some teams thrive on that pressure, and there is no doubt both Scottish sides will be highly motivated when it comes to taking on such formidable opponents as the French league leaders and the English and European champions. Even so, the prospect that everything will fall flat at the very start of April is a gloomy one.
Edinburgh, it should be said, have been inhabiting some sort of undead twilight zone for some time. Without a league win to their name since the turn of the year, they have been kept on life support only by the couple of European pool victories back in January which secured them a place in the last eight. Apart from those victories over Harlequins and Timisoara, they have played like a team drained of self-belief.
Big changes are afoot, of course, with the imminent arrival of new head coach Richard Cockerill, and the former Leicester man will want to overhaul the squad he inherits, as most new coaches do. But it would be encouraging for him – and for Edinburgh’s long-suffering support – if at least some of the current group of players show on Friday night that they still have a hunger for success.
The Warriors have not suffered from the problems of low morale that have afflicted their rivals, yet nor have they hit the heights in the league this year that they have done in previous seasons. They too have reserved their best displays for Europe, with the 43-0 display over Leicester being a historic triumph, and have never quite got the momentum going in the PRO12 that they did last season, when they raced up the table from eighth or ninth to end up in the play-off places.
Technically, Gregor Townsend’s team still have a chance of finishing in the top four this time round too, but even if they win their remaining matches they could fall short. All the more vital, then, that they put in an epic performance on Sunday.
AND ANOTHER THING . . .
BARRING any unforeseen delay in the announcement of the decision on his appeal hearing, Tim Swinson should learn tomorrow whether he is free to play for Glasgow Warriors against Saracens on Sunday.
That will mean that four training days have passed before the lock forward learns his fate.
And that, notwithstanding the improvements that have been made to rugby’s appeals procedure, is too long.
It is not quite a matter of being innocent until proven guilty when it comes to Swinson’s or anyone else’s hearing. They have already been found guilty of something or other by the referee – in the Scotland forward’s case, of committing an act of foul play.
But there is always the possibility a referee’s decision will be overruled by a panel, and the player retrospectively ruled innocent or deemed to have committed a lesser offence. And in that instance, it seems wholly unfair that the player in question, and his club, should face four days of uncertainty before knowing whether he can take part in the next match. Especially when the match in question is one of the biggest of the season.
Glasgow assistant coach Dan McFarland put a brave face on the issue yesterday, pointing out that there are times in the season when he and his colleagues often have to wait until late in the week before learning which international players will be released back to them.
It is wholly understandable that the Warriors should adopt such an attitude, as it would be remiss of them to waste time worrying about Swinson’s availability. But that does not mean it is right that they should wait for so long. The disciplinary system will never be perfect. But some of its remaining flaws could easily be ironed out.
TOMORROW Kevin Ferrie
Edinburgh have been inhabiting some sort of undead twilight zone for some time . . . they have been kept on life support by European pool wins