Scottish attempt to invade England is a show of intent
SRU’s interest in Worcester is a long shot but would establish a professional base
In 2004-05, when I was the director of rugby for the Scottish Rugby Union, we came close to setting up an academy at London Scottish. I got quite far down the track with it but, in the end, it was voted down by the SRU committee. At the time, it felt it wanted Scotland players playing and developing in Scotland. argued that had never been the case. You can go back to most Scotland teams, and a decent percentage of the players either grew up or played their club rugby outside Scotland. Around a third of the Grand Slam team in 1990 played in England.
I did, too. Born in Leeds, I was a product of the English system, had an English mother, played for an English club. But my father and his family were Scottish and I had a strong family attachment to Scotland. About half of the Scottish team at the time were in the same boat as me. I remember when I made my debut against the All Blacks in 1972, it was said that half of the New Zealand team would have qualified for Scotland through grandparents. My opposite man was Bruce Robertson.
Like the Irish, the Scots have always been great travellers. But unlike the Irish, whose provincial set-up is excellent and based around four professional teams with positive links to clubs and schools, Scotland have always needed to recruit from outside the country. The population – around five million – is roughly the same as Yorkshire. There are only two professional rugby clubs in the country. So, it is natural that the SRU needs to look abroad to increase the playing pool.
Exiled players have always been core to Scottish rugby – it is growing and keeping the depth of talent and then having the ability to develop it which is now so important to Scotland in the professional era.
Which brings us to Worcester Warriors and recent reports that the SRU is keen to buy the club as a base for Scottish players to play in England’s top league. I do not claim any inside knowledge here, but I think it will be very difficult to achieve.
It certainly used to be the case that there was a gentlemen’s agreement between the unions not to cross borders. The Rugby Football Union has a right of veto, so even if the SRU had a bid for the club accepted, the RFU could block it.
Premiership Rugby could, too. And, to be honest, you could hardly blame them if they did, as the academy is jointly funded by the RFU and PRL. They are trying to develop young England-qualified players, so why would they want to bring on young Scottish ones?
That said, if the SRU did manage to buy Worcester, and if its bid was welcomed by the RFU, the PRL and European Professional Club Rugby, I could certainly see benefits from a Scottish perspective.
There would be various issues to overcome. Firstly, it would be expensive – £10-12million per year, probably, for a union which is already in deficit.
Secondly, there is no guarantee you would be developing Scottish players. With the residency rules in rugby, there might well be competition between unions for the best players (as an aside, I think it would be interesting if World Rugby introduced international qualification criteria starting at under-20 level rather than ‘B’ international level, as the commitment of players to a country on family connection would have to be made earlier).
You could legitimately argue it might actually weaken Scottish club rugby to the extent that the best players from Glasgow Edinburgh would want to move to Worcester to play in the Premiership.
But, ultimately, why would Monday by today’s rivals Clermont at Allianz Park was a sixth straight loss in all competitions.
But some moving stories have also been unearthed. Calum Clark will recognise Mark “Sven” Edmonson, a cousin battling cancer.
Mako Vunipola is honouring ambitious grandfather Sione, while Richard Barrington has chosen to wear “PDP” – the initials of hugely popular former team-mate Petrus du Plessis.
Reflecting the honesty of their director of rugby, Mark McCall, Saracens have not moped. The engaging Bosch does not fumble for inane excuses.
“I don’t think we started the game not you want a foothold in the strongest, richest league in the world? The professional pathway in England is excellent. I am certainly proud to be part of the academy system, which is designed to open opportunities for the best talent to play for England. Why would the SRU not want to tap into that?
It all comes back to the dilemma which Scotland have had since the game went professional: what is the best way for the SRU to establish a professional base? Would it be by buying a Premiership team such as Worcester and exposing Scotlandqualified players to the best league in Europe? Could that money be better spent on the two existing clubs in Scotland? Or on retaining Edinburgh and Glasgow’s brightest talent – players such as Finn Russell, who is looking to move to France because the SRU says it cannot afford him? Would the SRU be better off investing in a third professional club in Scotland? In Aberdeen, perhaps, where there is a local economy that might help to sustain it?
Or would it be better, as I originally tried to do 12 years ago, to establish an academy at a club such as London Scottish, which – while it may be in the Championship rather than the Premiership – unlike Worcester is SRU-affiliated and might, therefore, stand a chance of approval from the RFU. One thing is for sure, the SRU has to do something. At the moment, Scotland are enjoying a purple patch, with a wonderful head coach in Gregor Townsend (who himself developed as a player through spells in England and France) and a wonderful group of players – arguably the best core group in a generation.
But you cannot rely on that. The SRU has a responsibility to develop a viable pathway for young players – and, just as importantly, young coaches. It has a responsibility to grow its pool of players. At the moment, Scotland suffer by comparison with Ireland, where the provincial set-up is far stronger, and with Wales, where rugby is the first sport. In Scotland, the best young athletes gravitate towards the most popular sport, which is football. This has always been a dilemma for Scottish Rugby: how to widen the reservoir of talent while taking into account Scotland’s limited finances, population and geography.
Whatever happens, Scotland have to match the ambitious thinking on the field with ambitious thinking off it.
The academy pathway in England is excellent. Why would the SRU not want to tap into that?
badly,” he shrugs. “Our attacking went quite well early but we couldn’t quite take our chances. They scored from their first two chances.
“We’ve had some defeats recently and perhaps that played on our minds. I don’t know, when you play a team of individuals like that and you are not really on it, you pay cash at the end – you pay with points against you.”
Turning 34 next month, Bosch is one of the elder Saracens. He is aware of the need to savour such a testing, yet rousing trip.
Realistically, a losing bonus point would represent a pretty good result for the Champions Cup holders. There is far too much quality to settle for that, though.
“Games like these feel unique,” he says. “My age means I am in my last years in my career. The chance to go out and play a game like this one is a gift. I try to embrace it as much as I can and do as best as I can for the team. We’ll try our best. When they don’t go your way – that’s sport. That’s life, sometimes. The good thing about this group is that we are honest with ourselves because we care.”
‘Our home is away from Argentina and we have twin boys. She works for me to be able to play’