More allegations lead to more chaos in Scottish rugby

AQUOTE from the hit television series Game of Thrones sprung to mind as the latest bombshell dropped from Scottish Rugby this week. ‘Chaos is a ladder,’ says the Machiavellian Lord Baelish as he justifies his continued scheming, regardless of the consequences to those who stand in his way.

While he obviously intended to climb said ladder, the chaos that currently engulfs the game of rugby in Scotland seems only to be leading all and sundry in quite the opposite direction.

Friday’s latest episode was the announcement that an ‘extensive external review’ into ‘allegations of institutionalised discrimination’ had found evidence of both sexism and discrimination within Scottish rugby’s governing body.

Straightforward enough? Well, not quite. Here comes the chaos.

You see, the Scottish Rugby Union isn’t really the Scottish Rugby Union any more.

Indeed, the SRU is, in fact, now the SRL, the CRB and, even more confusingly, still the SRU. Here come the acronyms.

The SRL (Scottish Rugby Limited) is the operating board headed up by chief executive Mark Dodson and chaired by former Scotland international John Jeffrey.

The CRB (Club Rugby Board) is comprised of elected individuals from the amateur clubs in Scotland.

The SRU (Scottish Rugby Union)

board provides custodian oversight and is chaired by Professor Lorne Crerar.

There was also the SCOG (Standing Committee on Governance) which conducted the review that led to the change in structure.

You may now be thinking OMG (oh my God) but the rather less polite WTF is also applicable here.

These changes were only recently brought in and, back in September last year, Scottish Rugby president Colin Rigby hailed the new structure as ‘a significant milestone in the history of the SRU... where all stakeholders now have clarity around governance, roles and responsibility’.

Alas, his optimism has appeared to be unfounded, especially when it comes to ‘clarity’.

Unhappy with how the process had unfolded, SRL and SCOG board member Julia Bracewell promptly resigned and, in her resignation letter, made allegations over ‘institutionalised discrimination’.

The SRL then commissioned an external review to look into these allegations.

Now, true to form for Scottish rugby, the news that this was taking place was never made public, so it seems apt to give some examples of what else was ailing the game during the period the review was being conducted:

n Siobhan Cattigan’s parents were still demanding an external — or independent — review into their daughter’s tragic death. And being told no, with a mysterious, internal fact-finding process taking place instead. They may, or may not, be told of that particular review’s findings.

n Scotland international Rufus McLean pled guilty to domestic abuse charges. His club, Glasgow Warriors, only made this news and their decision to suspend him public after the story was revealed online by the media. As of yet, no credible answer has been given as to why this was initially kept secret and both Dodson and Warriors managing director Al Kellock have not spoken to the media about it.

n Liberton women’s rugby team quit their club amid allegations of discrimination, including sexism and misogyny.

Sound familiar? The SRL’s response was to set up a so-called confidential email address for the public to let them know about things like, well, allegations of discrimination, etc.

It’s important to highlight these issues because, at every step of the way, questions were being asked by the media about how the game’s governing body was handling these cases and there was not one word about an external review already taking place into other allegations.

There was a lack of transparency. A lack of accountability. And a lack of understanding about the need for both.

Also throw into the mix the issues faced by the Welsh Rugby Union over sexism and the RFU in dealing with Luther Burrell’s racism allegations and it’s clear rugby as a whole needs to be on its guard — and open itself to scrutiny.

Yet, the press release on Friday did little to quell fears that our game is still heading in the wrong direction.

For example, would the casual reader not find it a little strange that in a statement admitting evidence had been found of discriminatory and sexist behaviour, it required the SRL to state that it wasn’t the guilty party?

‘The allegations were not about Scottish Rugby Limited (SRL) or its activities,’ it read before going on to list the charge sheet for the rest of the organisation.

Evidence was found of a lack of diversity, a lack of female representation, a lack of inclusion, a lack of promotion and planning for the girls and women’s game, and a lack of respect for women at meetings.

It was also revealed that a working group will now, rightly, be established to look into the findings.

There was then a statement from the SRL chairman Jeffrey, but curiously nothing from either the CRB or the SRU. It suggests an organisation not at one with itself.

It’s perhaps fanciful to hold up GoT (Game of Thrones) as a cautionary tale but a civil war took a heavy toll on that show. If this chaos continues in Scottish rugby, the consequences would also be grave.

True to form for Scottish rugby, the news this was taking place was never made public