Pro sides facing new ownership transformation
SCOTTISH rugby this week re-opened the door to franchising its professional teams and the person who drafted the blueprint before believes it will lead to new ownership of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
In these columns in August, Phil Anderton urged the Scottish game to open up to allow private investors to get involved with pro rugby, insisting it was the only way to keep up with the market forces pulling the game forward without bankrupting the union.
Today, as the Scottish Rugby Union plans for a special general meeting on October 28 to gain the backing of Scotland’s clubs to pursue investment, Anderton outlines how it can be done and the keys to ensuring it has the desired effect of maintaining competitive pro teams while releasing funds back into the rest of the sport, that involves 99 per cent of Scotland’s players, coaches and volunteers.
‘Hats off to Mark Dodson and his team for doing it, but the key is not to rush into it and just do a deal with anyone,’ said Anderton.
‘It is crucial that they get it right and by that I mean they ensure there is the right balance between allowing investors to have genuine control of Glasgow and Edinburgh and ensuring the teams continue to develop Scottish rugby on and off the field.
‘The idea of just going out and trying to sell these clubs, hoping investors will pick up the tab for everything, isn’t realistic. Demand for that would be slim and you wouldn’t attract the right people.
‘To make it work they need to make sure the hard yards are done on the legal terms, governance and structures, be clear on the timescale, who reviews franchise plans and the franchisees — because that is what we’re talking about here, franchises. And heed lessons, not only from the failure here in the past, but from franchising around the world where it has worked well.
‘You can’t have the SRU telling new owners what coaches to have, what players to sign, what teams to send out, but also you can’t have a new owner filling the team with southern-hemisphere imports because that would be disastrous for the development of Scottish rugby.’
Having taken on the role of SRU chief executive in 2004 and spent time in meetings in the southern hemisphere and across Europe with a series of millionaires discussing the potential for businessmen and consortiums to get involved, Anderton is well placed to answer the big question, which is: ‘Who would invest in Scottish rugby teams with no real prospect of financial return?’
He said: ‘There are many reasons why people would get involved. There are syndicates of people who will look at it and think these clubs are not run as well as they could be, so for them it’s the challenge.
‘There are a lot of people out there who love and want Scottish rugby to do well, and they may have earned themselves a good bit of money, so they will feel perhaps they could help it be successful.’