Jim Telfer urges SRU to go back to future in search for CEO

FORMER Scotland coach Jim Telfer believes that the chief executive discarded by the SRU seven years ago is the type of character that Scottish rugby should look for now in an effort to move the game forward.

Bill Watson, the former Boroughmuir and Scotland back row, took up the office in 1997 and remained there until early 2004. He was credited with being the first businessman to take a grip of professional rugby at Murrayfield and lead it.

As director of rugby at the SRU, Telfer was at the heart of those early days of the pro game, working closely with Watson to draw up a map for the direction of the game.

Telfer acknowledges that he made mistakes, although he insists that a district format remains the only way for Scotland to compete in the pro game. He also believes that Watson was an under-rated figure.

"He was the best equipped chief executive that I have seen in our game," said Telfer, "because, as well as being a chartered accountant, he was in touch with clubs, had been a player obviously and an active coach at one time, and anyone who spoke to him knew that he had the game at heart. I'm not saying it has to be a rugby man that takes over, though I agree with what Gavin (Hastings] said in yesterday's Scotsman, that we need someone who understands Scottish rugby and that it is unique. Having rugby at heart is a good thing, but it is business acumen that you need at the top. And a good chief executive appoints people to run the rugby side.

"That's what the job is and maybe that's where we need to turn things around a bit at Murrayfield now. We've gone from having a lot of rugby people running things and perhaps not the financial understanding – I include myself in that – to the financial understanding and a lack of rugby."

Pressed on the mistakes he felt he made before retiring in 2003, Telfer continued: "As director of rugby I looked at the rugby side and what we needed to produce professional players that could compete with other nations.

"That was why I pushed for four districts, based on traditional loyalties we had with the districts, and to create a spread of talent and teams across Scotland. The board said at the time that we couldn't afford four teams, but I said that was the best rugby plan and left them to find the money. That didn't materialise and we ended up with people spending money Scottish rugby didn't have, which obviously wasn't the path to success. Gordon McKie came in, stopped that and brought stability to the financial operation, which was very important, but the rugby side has not developed."

Telfer cited his famous lack of diplomacy as adding to the struggles to make pro rugby work by setting clubs he needed to work with against him and believes that better links with clubs, and less control from Murrayfield, remain central to getting the pro teams moving forward.

"We tried to move them out and give them more independence, but the teams seem to be controlled now more centrally than they ever have been. That doesn't work in sport. The Irish provinces are still financed by their union, but they have grown in their own communities and bring in more through tickets, their own commercial efforts and merchandising to help sustain them and grow further."

He added: "The game is for players. I watched our under-20s compete well against England this week, and they could have won, but we're not supporting these players the way we should.

"While we all talk about chief executives and boards, for me the most important thing is creating a better environment for these talented players to improve and compete."