THERE may be some nervous looks about Murrayfield this week after Ian Barnes became the new representative of Scotland's leading rugby clubs on the SRU, but the voluble former Hawick and Scotland lock forward insisted yesterday he was taking on the role with an "open mind", determined to help create good partnerships.
George Clark, the Boroughmuir official, lost the Division One clubs representative seat after becoming a popular figure within the SRU, but it would seem less so outside of Murrayfield. Barnes, the Edinburgh Academical coach, was elected to the Scot
tish Rugby Council on Tuesday night, ironically, on the same night he had been due to appear before a disciplinary panel for outspoken comments during the season.
That hearing was postponed and he duly won nine of the 12 club votes. Barnes, now retired as an accountant, stressed that he did not intend to march into the new role shouting the odds about what's wrong with the SRU's leadership and wished to spend his initial days after officially taking his place on the council from next month's AGM getting to grips with the council's work.
But he will know he takes up the position with wide-ranging support from clubs who want a stronger voice and so he is unlikely either to be sucked in as a smooth new cog in the governance wheel.
He said: "I had no long-term ambition to go on the SRU, but I think the clubs have had a really hard deal over the last few years, not just in Premier One, but all the way down.
"Clubs are the core strength of Scottish rugby because they have the identity, ethos and history, and the calibre of the people involved is outstanding. But many are disenfranchised and I feel, personally, it's time to put up or shut up – it's time to work within the structure that is there and develop partnerships rather than have an autocracy.
I'm going in there representing the Premier One views, not Ian Barnes' views.
"Of course, I am pleased to get the clubs support because I wouldn't have stood for election had I not wanted to get in, and I will be looking to get on the Scottish Rugby (executive] Board as well; that's my ambition. It's going to be interesting, but I am going into this with an open mind."
Barnes stopped playing in 1978 and has gone on to amass a wealth of experience across the Scottish game as a coach and administrator. He twice coached his hometown club Hawick, securing league and cup triumphs, and had spells with Hawick Linden at junior level, Stewart's Melville, Heriot's and Haddington before being involved with Edinburgh district and Scottish Students. More recently, he has helped lift Accies from Division Three back to Division One, just in time for their 150th anniversary celebrations this season.
Though some within Murrayfield who have felt the heat of Barnes' invective over recent years may squirm at the thought of him joining the council, in fact, his election may prove to be a most open and welcome test of the strength and veracity of the new governance system.
The full article contains 532 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
