I’m gonna blow my own trumpet…last week, like a new-age Mystic Meg, I predicted Scotland would usurp Ireland and Argentina in the World Rankings. I just had no idea we would do it so soon!
Things round here are getting almost as combustible as a Fedex parcel on the 5th of November. Not to mention fairly complex. The Scotland squad have no idea how easy they’ve got it! Sure they have had to do days of “minging bosh” (Jim ‘The Bear’ Thompson) on a windswept park in St. Andrew but, then, they have everything neatly set out for them.
Like a startled cow, it’s time to stagger away from the debate over the Scotland 34 (how did they sneak another player into the squad?!) as this weekend sees Edinburgh take on an unbeaten Ulster and the Warriors attempt to overcome the Ospreys.
So in the end last week wasn’t so bad. Glasgow conquered the Dragons. Edinburgh where unlucky to lose (Thanks to the ‘Knee of God’). In Delhi Scotland just missed out on a semi-final place, and finished a respectable 6th. This is almost erring on the side of a positive week! Throw in some liberated miners, some fat-headed American tycoon-types getting chased out of Liverpool, and some posh people getting slagged off on the Apprentice. Yup…good week so far!
It’s a biggie, this weekend. Up and down the country rugby fans will become hermits, forget to wash and most likely forget about (OMG, GAMU!) Saturday night reality TV as the Heineken Cup starts up again.
Thankfully the national papers have already written our sides off, so we, the fans don’t have to think about it. Cheers. Maybe next year, eh? Oh…. We’ve been written off for that one, too?! Ok. Also, our Commonwealth 7s campaign starts on Monday. Tape it? Alright. Let’s just focus on our club rugby, then…
As the sporting World focuses in on Wales, we here at SRB like to keep it as insular as possible. No distractions; no half-measures; no common sense. Scottish Club rugby over International events. We aren’t interested unless it’s Craig Chalmers in the Popemobile, thank you very much!
So maybe we’ll need some divine intervention to separate the top teams in this division. While Watsonians and Selkirk prop up the league, everyone else (keep the faith, West!) has a realistic chance of making that top 8.
There’s no reason, then, to be surprised by some of last week’s results.
This weekend throws up some interesting ties as table-toppers Boroughmuir face a sterner test than they have had all season as they travel to reigning champions Currie. Other games see trailblazers Hawks hoping to continue their winning form against B & I Cup team, Melrose, and Heriot’s travel to a Dundee team fresh from their first win of the season.
Premier 1 rugby is a bit of a family affair for me.
My father has served as President, Coach and Captain for Dundee HSFP. My two Brothers Andrew and Neil play scrum half and prop, respectively, for the same club. Myself, the black sheep of the family, I play prop for Heriot’s. I’m pretty sure my Mum hates rugby.
Another weekend, and another set of results smashing you in the face like a heavy dose of reality TV.
With Scotland’s football team howking out a 0-0 barn-burner in the frozen reaches of Eastern Europe and Glasgow’s game only being presented in ‘Swedish Chef’ it was a good weekend to see some live rugby in the (rare) Scottish sunshine.
… and you may as well blank Mystic Meg and serve Paul the Psychic Octopus with a wedge of lemon because who knows what’s going to happen this season!
The opening weekend saw rafts of new signings, an early start, the beginning of a shiny new league and cup set-up and the champions falling at the first hurdle. Yup, Scottish Premier Club rugby is back to being unpredictable and (touch wood) exciting… well, at least for the first round of games…
I’m an open-minded guy. I’ve tried sushi, and I even watched ‘The Proposal’ with my girlfriend, once.
So when I arrived in Canada to play rugby I did so without expectations. A good thing I did, too. Within my first two days I received cultural shocks; shocks that highlighted the differences, both rugby-related and social in nature, between New World rugby nations, and ‘established’ ones.
The revelations of the last few days that the SRU don’t want to tour the big southern hemisphere nations because it will stifle our developing players has, understandably, been met with disdain from some quarters. Robbo says “as far as our overseas tours are concerned I do not believe it would be beneficial for us to play a series of three Tests against the individual SANZAR countries at the end of our season. What I believe works for us, from a performance perspective, is a mix between SANZAR and Tier 2 unions as that gives us the opportunity to develop players which is part and parcel of touring”. Meanwhile, a great number of Scottish fans will be saying, “WOW! Look at him spin!”
Sorry for the belated piece, guys; I’m currently playing rugby in Canada and have been enjoying, *ahem*, what North America has to offer. That is a report for another day, though…
So the Premier 1 season is done! Over! Finito! And what a surprising and refreshing season it has been for Scottish Club Rugby. With all the grumblings about the proposed changes to structure and format for the top divisions and whether it is what ‘amateur’ rugby needs, and a rumoured step away from an allegedly ailing cup competition perhaps it is a good time to reflect on the positives of this season.
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