An SRU move to pay tribute to Doddie gets my backing
In the aftermath of Doddie Weir’s sad death last weekend, a petition has been started to name one of the stands at Murrayfield after the man from the Borders.
The move is seen as being both a lasting testimony to his life, and also his work to find a cure for MND.
There have been questions in some quarters as to whether singling out Weir for this honour sets a precedent.
There may also be commercial implications with BT, who have the naming rights at Murrayfield.
However, the petition has already been signed by thousands of people, who feel this would be a fitting and lasting tribute to the great man.
I am amongst their number, and hope that the SRU will act soon.
Meanwhile, the next two weekends see the return of European Cup rugby, with Edinburgh in the premier competition, and Glasgow in the second tier.
Once again, the tournament is complex, with two groups instead of groups of four teams. So working out how to qualify is going to require a small computer.
There are only four rounds of group matches, rather than six, which means that teams will have to be on the top of their game in all four matches and cannot afford to slip up if they want to qualify for the knockout stages.
Edinburgh are in Group
A, and have home and away fixtures against Saracens and Castres.
The former currently top the Premiership, and the latter are close to propping up the bottom of the French Top 14 table.
Winning in France is always a challenge, and Saracens have an excellent pedigree. So they will be very tough opposition for Edinburgh, who have been somewhat inconsistent of late.
In the Challenge Cup, Glasgow open their campaign against Bath, before hosting Perpignan at Scotstoun.
Bath have been poor for a number of years, which has been very frustrating for their loyal followers.
But they have begun to find a bit of form recently, and will want to take that into their European Cup run.
Perpignan however, are one place below Castres in the French Top 14, so must be considered vulnerable, especially with the first game at Scotstoun.
The problem is that neither Scottish professional side appears to be firing on all cylinders.
Edinburgh have promised much but have lost to Benetton and Munster recently, while Glasgow conceded 40 points to Leinster.
European rugby provides both sides with a clean slate, and an opportunity for the players to demonstrate that they can raise their game to another level in a different competition.
It is something that Scottish players need to do more generally, given their inconsistency during the autumn international campaign and inability to close out matches.
It should be a good proving ground for players to press for selection in the Six Nations.