Iain Morrison: 'Anywhere else in the world a bona fide hero such as Calder would romp home'

Published on Saturday 20 June 2009 19:37

THE SRU'S AGM has been shunted from its traditional Friday evening time slot to an 11am start next Saturday. The Lions kick off just three hours later, which should concentrate the delegates' minds wonderfully well.

Much of the focus will be on the presidential election. Anywhere else in the world a bona fide rugby hero and former Lions/Scotland skipper such as Finlay Calder would romp home but the clubs who make the decision are a quirky lot, as PC Brown will testify.

A few years back Calder, pictured, spent his Saturday afternoons casting his eye over Edinburgh Accies reserves before collecting the corner flags at full time. It is difficult to imagine any other former Lions skipper rolling up his sleeves and getting involved at such a modest level of the game. Calder spoke last week of his hopes for Scottish rugby if he becomes president.

"It's time we brought ourselves up to the mark in our handling of our English neighbours. We have to offer them, and everyone else that visits Murrayfield, the proper respect because our behaviour has not always been the best. I want the match day experience to be an exciting one for everyone involved including the opposition. We have a great coach in Andy Robinson and I am 100% behind him and what he is trying to do. We have a good enough side to take anyone in world rugby on our day and we all need to get behind the coach and the team."

Since the French team was pelted with bottles after beating the All Blacks in Dunedin last week, Calder may have a point and he warns, "don't think it couldn't happen here".

Jim Gracie, a former member of the old, discredited general committee, is also standing for president as is the incumbent, Jim Stevenson, who cannot be accused of leaving any stone unturned in his fight for re-election, especially if there may be a vote lurking beneath it. The Cambuslang man attended two club dinners in the one night a little while back and he travelled to the Islay Beach Rugby festival just for the afternoon; a round trip of at least eight hours. Having criticised George Jack for standing for a second term last year last year, Stevenson is sufficiently infected by the presidential bug that he is canvassing like a Clinton for his own re-election. The populist president spoke last week from South Africa about "unfinished business" that he has on his plate and the honour he felt at being voted into the Union's top job. It promises to be a close vote.

Outwith the presidential arm-wrestle there are a couple of interesting political manoeuvres. Motion 8 suggests that the president should automatically chair the council no matter how useless he may be, although it isn't couched in those exact terms. Motion 6 asks that one rep from each of the premier, national and regional leagues is represented on the council in addition to the president and one other council member drawn from affiliates (refs, schools and women). This would put five council members on the SRU board despite Sheriff Bill Dunlop's carefully crafted advice that it should consist of four executives, four non-executives and four from the council.

Both these proposals emanate from Stirling County who also ask for integrated school and club leagues at U18 and U16 level to offer Scotland's youth a better standard of rugby. As things stand the best teams enjoy just one or two competitive matches each season but, for their own reasons, the private schools have already said they will play no part in leagues. The Union should instigate them anyway and hope the fee-paying schools jump on board later;none of them joined the schools cup until they saw the runaway success of the venture.

If Motion 5 is passed the ladies' SWRU will be fully integrated into the SRU. Otherwise the most interesting suggestion comes in Motion 4, a package of bye-law amendments emanating from the standing working party on governance, which is proposed by SRU chairman Allan Munro. One amendment requires that a person can stand for president just once. But before Stevenson reaches for the smelling salts, the motion would only come into effect next year.