Murrayfield Will Always Be Murrayfield

by Dugald Skene

The SRU this week announced it was considering selling the naming rights to Murrayfield Stadium, the home of Scottish Rugby.

 

In a statement to the BBC, Chief Executive Mark Dodson said "The single biggest piece of our inventory is our national stadium. We would like to see if we can monetise that.

"It would be crazy for us not to look at using our single biggest piece of inventory to drive revenue. We want to get the right price for it."

Murrayfield - The home of Scottish Rugby

The response has been interesting, with many suggesting that it’s ‘money for nothing’ and it’s a ‘no brainer’ for the SRU.  Those same people argue that whatever the stadium ends up being called, the history and tradition associated with the stadium will ensure that people will forever refer to it as Murrayfield, citing Newcastle Football Club as an example.

Others, the traditionalists, are not keen, seeing it as a sell-out by the SRU, forever condemning the history of the stadium and the great moments it has hosted to a past era which will be forgotten.

Let’s be honest here – it doesn’t make a jot of difference.  I agree with the first group.  Murrayfield will always be Murrayfield to those who have experienced it before and to those that are still to be introduced to it.  The tradition of the game in this country is such that experiences are shared between the generations and those that will know the stadium in its current guise will introduce it as such to the next generation of rugby fan.

My first game at Murrayfield was as a nine year old, going with my mum and dad to watch Scotland beat Western Samoa in the 1991 World Cup quarter final.  The physical transformation that the stadium has gone through since then has been dramatic, with both north and south terraces being replaced and the West grandstand being completely overhauled.  No change to the name of the stadium will be as dramatic.  The symbolism of the name will not be lost or forgotten. 

But what, other than the obvious direct revenue, will selling the rights actually give the game, the stadium and whoever chooses to buy those rights? Does that even matter?

Murrayfield is massively underused.  At 67,500 seats, it is by far the biggest stadium in the country (arguably way oversized) and yet gets an opportunity to be filled only a handful of times a year.  In 2012, only 4 international rugby games are being hosted at Murrayfield; 2 in the 6 Nations and 2 in the Autumn International series.

This clearly can’t be enough to sustain a stadium of this size.  Edinburgh Rugby have boosted the revenue this year with their Heineken Cup run last season which saw them host Toulouse in front of nearly 50,000 in their quarter final.  This however, is not a guaranteed income.  The teams league games attract around 3,500, a crown drowned by the size of the theatre around them.  I can’t help but think the fate of the team in the league, which has been poor in the past few seasons, is affected by the emptiness of their home ground on a bi-weekly basis, despite the best efforts of their fans.

With the refurbishment of an excellent facility at Scotstoun in Glasgow, even the World Cup 7’s has been relocated from Murrayfield, losing a weekend’s worth of valuable revenue in a sparsely populated calendar.

A prospecting sponsor will be hard pushed to be attracted to plastering their name on a stadium that draws small crowds only up to 20 times a year and large crowds seldomly.  The question then would be whether a company’s name will in turn attract further events?  Unless it can, I see very little incentive.

Murrayfield currently supplements it’s income by hosting single one-off events, particularly music concerts but again, these are seldom.  An obvious alternative money maker is football, the best supported sport in Scotland.  But here in lies another problem – for such a small country, it seems more than a little crazy that we have developed two separate national stadiums for rugby and football. Each has their reasons for the way they have developed to what we know now, but the upshot is that both are underused.

 

The SRU may entertain the idea of selling the naming rights, and I believe that it’s only right they do so for every avenue needs to be explored.  However, I really struggle to imagine any company that would be enticed unless the SRU can attract more events to fill out their calendar.  In my opinion, it’s a fantastic stadium which struggles with its own inflexibility and it’s that which may mean it won’t attract any suitors at all.

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.

Strength In Depth Growing In Scotland

Scottish rugby proved again that it is in good shape after another fine round of Heineken Cup action.  The weekends games saw a lot of the young Scottish talent come to the fore, boosted no doubt by their recent inclusion in Scotland's 6 Nations squad.

At Firhill, a lapse in concentration at the beginning of the second half was all that really separated the Warriors from claiming a result against the reigning European Champions Leinster.  In a spirited display, led by the outstanding Al Kellock who had his best game of the season so far, the Warriors were tireless in their work around the pitch, particularly at the breakdown where they didn't allow the likes of Sean O'Brien or Jamie Heaslip anywhere near the amount of ball they are accustomed to.

Duncan Weir was excellent at fly half, with his kicking boots very much on his feet.  His excellent place kicking was backed up with some well considered kicks into space in around the pitch.  For such a young player in such a crucial position, he showed real level headedness throughout the game, showing everyone that he should be the number one pick at Glasgow over Ruaridh Jackson.  The competition for positions at Glasgow is refreshing to see, and head coach Sean Lineen has done an excellent job with his squad rotations to maintain a high quality of rugby.  It's bittersweet for Lineen that he sees his two top fly halves selected for Scotland duty which could well undermine Glasgow's playoff hopes in the RaboDirect Pro12 league.

Duncan Weir produced a mature display against

champions Leinster

Stuart Hogg, after a shaky start, grew into the game well, with one particularly chase and catch from a Duncan Weir up-and-under being a particular highlight.  Richie Gray had a very good game, setting his stall out early by nicking the first Leinster lineout after a few minutes.  His ball carrying was excellent, covering every inch of the pitch.

Ultimately, Glasgow came up short, losing 16-23 and as a result, fail to qualify for the quarter finals of the competition.  With a win away at Bath next week however, there is every incentive to make it into the Amlin Cup.

Friday night saw Edinburgh travel to Paris to take on Racing Metro 92.  The return fixture at Murrayfield saw one of the greatest games ever in the Heineken Cup when Edinburgh staged the biggest comeback in competition history to win 46-45.

It may have been ambitious to hope for the same, but both teams went out looking for tries.  With the game tied after 3 converted tries each, it was Phil Godman who showed the composure to kick a 35 yard drop goal in the dying seconds to clinch a 24-21 victory. 

Scottish victories in France are rare gems indeed, and this one meant that Edinburgh had pipped Racing on both occasions with an aggregate score over two games of 73-69.

The hunt for the quarter finals is still very much on, and provided they beat London Irish at Murrayfield next week, regardless of Cardiff's result, should mean they qualify as either group winners or one of the two highest scoring second placed teams with 21/22 points.

So both clubs are flying high either domestically or in Europe, and rarely do both prosper simultaneously.  With Glasgow fielding a 100% Scottish side on Sunday, it goes to show the strength in depth that Scotland is amassing as we head into the international season. 

The key for the SRU now is to hold on to that talent and keep it in Scotland.  They let a big fish through the net with Richie Gray securing a deal at Sale from next season, but lessons like that must be learnt if we are to see our players progress and play with each other over the coming years.

1872 Cup Preview

I cannot remember a time when the anticipation for the upcoming double header between Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby has been so feverish.  Is it because the annual Christmas and New Year event has become more and more established over the last few years?  Is it because the RaboDirect Pro12 is as competitive as it has ever been?

The answer to both is a resounding yes.  But I think that more than either of those is that Scottish rugby, headed by the two professional outfits, is on something of a high at the moment.  Both Edinburgh and Glasgow have won 6 of the last 8 in all competitions and are both still in good positions to achieve reaching the knock-out stages of the European Heineken Cup.

The rugby rivalry has certainly intensified in recent years to add to the plethora of other arguements each city uses against the other for superiority.  However the significance of this brace of fixtures goes beyond claiming bragging rights.  Rather, it goes a long way to securing ever valuable points towards achieving a play-off place in the league.

Can Glasgow Warriors retain the 1872 Cup?

In the past, most games have gone the way of the home team, and so the 1872 Cup has tended to come down to who can win by more at home, with Glasgow winning overall in 3 of the last 4 seasons.  With both teams in such a rich vein of form at the moment, I suspect the same will be true again, but I would have to fancy Glasgow over the course of the two games on Boxing Day and New Years Day.

Not only are Glasgow unbeaten in 7 games in the league, but they have been buoyed by the new signing of Rory Lamont and the announcement that they have secured the signing of his brother and fellow Scotland stalwart Sean from next season.  Added to the encouraging performances in Europe, they go to Murrayfield on the 26th full of confidence.

It's also been a big week for Edinburgh, not least with Chris Paterson (starting at full back) announcing his international retirement.  They also boast the league's top try scorer in Tim Visser who is lethal when given space.

The two ties will also throw up some intriguing match-ups between rivalling Scotland first team contenders, not least between Ross Rennie and John Barclay and a rare contest between first choice Scotland scrumhalves (although I'm sure Rory Lawson would have something to say about that!) Mike Blair and Chris Cusiter.

All-in-all, we await two matches of great intrigue between two teams full of Scottish stars and who play very different styles of rugby.  I would expect that the two games will attract the biggest attendances of the season in Scotland, and perhaps ever in the league in Scotland.  I'm hoping for some entertaining, competitive rugby and of course, ultimately, a Glasgow triumph to retain the 1872 Cup