Non-Selection Of Fit Players Only Goes To Hurt The National Game

by Dugald Skene

Tim Visser, the Edinburgh and Scotland winger, and top try scorer in the RaboDirect Pro12 this season, confirmed on Twitter on Friday that he was not going to be playing for Edinburgh in their league clash away to European Champions Leinster in Dublin.

Visser wasn't injured, it was a decision taken by the coaching staff not to take him to Edinburgh.

It is exactly this kind of decision, however, that baffles me in any sport, not just rugby. Tim Visser represents the real strike threat in the Edinburgh back line, having scored 6 tries in 3 games, and yet it has been decided not to take him to one of the hardest places to play rugby in Europe, a place where his ability to make a difference in a game could be all the more important.

Not only this, but tough rugby tests against the likes of Leinster represent the exact sort of game to stretch players of quality in an effort to improve.

Leinster beat Edinburgh 22-16 in a hard fought game

Many see Visser as an automatic selection for Scotland in the autumn tests coming up in 6 weeks, and based on current form, rightly so.  However, I struggle to see the benefits both for Edinburgh and Scotland by not fielding a player of his quality in the big league games.  They can only go help to improve their game and strengthen their resolve in the tightest of game scenarios.

So why leave Visser out? Are Edinburgh 'saving' him in an effort to concentrate more on European competition?

This raises a deeper question that has been discussed at length in European rugby - why should all teams represented in the multinational RaboDirect automatically be eligible for the Heineken Cup, the premier European club competition?

The Welsh Rugby Union took the decision last season to only allow the 3 highest ranked teams from their 4 professional outfits in the league to qualify for the Heineken Cup. It's a start, but in my opinion, it's not enough.  I believe in the proposed system that each country represented in the league should allow half of their teams in the league to qualify, based on where they finish relative to each other in the league. This would mean that a team like Edinburgh, who quite deliberately concentrated on their run in the Heineken Cup over their aspirations in the league last season, would not have qualified this season over their rivals Glasgow Warriors who finished in the top 4 of the league.

All this means that only 2 Welsh, 2 Irish, 1 Scottish and 1 Italian team would qualify from the Rabo Direct Pro12.

It would also provide incentive for the teams competing in the league to play their best players in every game they are available in an effort to achieve European qualification.  The net effect on the league would be increased competitiveness, a resultant increase in quality and ultimately revenue for all the teams.

As the league provides the majority of players for their respective nations of Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy, increased competitiveness in the league would raise the standard of quality of player, and no one could deny that would ultimately benefit the national teams.

Leaving out your best players in big games when they are available to play only goes to emphasise the complacency of teams in a system that allows them to play in the biggest European competition, even if they come bottom of the league.  Something has to change, and I can only see the league and the national unions treating the Heineken Cup as an exclusive competition and restricting access to those who deserve it on merit being the way forward.