Irvine to stand for second term at SRU

ANDY Irvine yesterday confirmed that he would stand for a second year as president of the Scottish Rugby Union after reaching agreement with his employers to continue his drive in bringing the sport out of the mess he inherited last year.

The former Scotland and British Lions player was the first to be appointed by clubs to the new role of ambassadorial president, beating George Blackie, the vice-president from Glasgow who was due to step into the role before the regulations were changed in the sweeping reconstruction of the sport's governance. Irvine had been proposed by his club Heriot's, but insisted it was not guaranteed that he could stand for a second year due to heavy work commitments with Jones Lang LaSalle, the Edinburgh property firm.

However, Irvine, 54, stated yesterday: "This past year has been busy, demanding and certainly fulfilling for me as president and thanks to Frank Hadden and the Scotland squad, there has been much to feel proud about."

Whether he does remain in office will be decided by Scotland's rugby clubs at their annual general meeting on 30 June. SRU chairman Allan Munro said: "It's tremendous that Andy has decided to stand for re-election."