DODSON: TRANSFORMATIONAL INJECTION ON THEWAY
Scottish Rugby chef executive Mark Dodson believes a “transformational” injection of cash is in-bound to the sport, as soon as the final details of the deal to sell a slice of the Six Nations to CVC Partners private equity firm are finalised, which could be in a matter of weeks.
The Murrayfield boss has been under intense pressure to balance the books since Covid hit these shores just under a year ago.
The loss of crowds at all matches – and particularly during the Autumn internationals and this year’s Six Nations – has been a massive blow.
And the postponement earlier this week of today’s France versus Scotland clash in Paris due to a Covid outbreak in the French camp was another major setback.
It means Scottish Rugby won’t receive vital participation payments and broadcast revenue from the Six Nations until they have completed their schedule.
That’s why awarding Scotland with a walkover win would not be in the best interests of the game in this country.
But Dodson believes that some good news is on the way.
Scottish Rugby picked up north of £20m last May for its part in the deal to sell a 28% stake in the PRO14 league to CVC, and it is believed that the Six Nations deal is worth just under £40m.
Dodson said: “The deal we did on PRO14, and if the deal on 6N comes through, they will be absolutely transformational for the union.
“That’s why we have to be very careful about how the money is spent. It has to be spent on things that will future-proof the game.
“It will be spent across the whole business: the community game, the facilities of the community game, BT Murrayfield itself – it’s a massive stadium, costs a lot of money and always needs to be renewed and improved.”
■ French Sports minister Roxana Maracineanu has threatened to withdraw France’s authorisation to play in the Six Nations if the French Rugby Federation does not properly investigate the origin of the Covid-19 outbreak that caused today’s match with Scotland to be postponed.
FFR president Bernard Laporte said that “to my knowledge, nobody’s at fault”, but Maracineanu appeared to disagree.
“We asked an investigation from the FFR and President Bernard Laporte, who before the tournament presented us the protocol and told us everything was going to go well, that the bubble was going to be strictly respected with controlled entries and exits,” Maracineanu told L’equipe TV.
“Now we can see that this is not the case, I am waiting for him to come and explain to us what has happened.
“If nothing happens, if we don’t look into this chain of contaminations and they don’t explain to us how it could happen, then the authorisation that has been given to play in the Six Nations can be withdrawn.”
France, who won their first two games, are set to travel to England on March 10.