Club set-up is ever-more professional

There may be a few outstanding fixtures with some promotions and relegations down the leagues still to be determined but the curtain effectively came down on the club season with Heriot's double-clinching victory in the BT '¨Premiership final at Ayr.
Heriot's scrum-half Tom Wilson gets ready to puts the ball in against Ayr at Millbrae. Picture: Gary Hutchison/SNS/SRUHeriot's scrum-half Tom Wilson gets ready to puts the ball in against Ayr at Millbrae. Picture: Gary Hutchison/SNS/SRU
Heriot's scrum-half Tom Wilson gets ready to puts the ball in against Ayr at Millbrae. Picture: Gary Hutchison/SNS/SRU

It was an agonising finale 
for the Millbrae men in the second year of the play-off system as the regular season frontrunners were ambushed 29-26 by a Heriot’s side who had finished third but were driven on by the momentum of a perfectly-timed run of winning form.

There was frustration from the Ayr coaching staff and players and anger amongst the vocal home crowd about the late penalty try which handed the crown to the defending league champions, adding an extra ingredient of controversy to the mix of an occasion which served up genuine entertainment.

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Victorious coach Phil Smith was right when he said the end-to-end contest was a great advert for Premiership rugby and, at a time when it is increasingly difficult to get coverage in a rugby landscape dominated by the international and pro game, the nation’s clubs are doing an admirable job of fighting their corner. Seasoned observers of the domestic scene have noted an upturn in quality in the last couple of years and there do seem to have been positive strides in making the Premiership more of a stepping stone to the professional tier.

The top clubs such as Heriot’s now view themselves as semi-pro and, while they may still be closer to amateur than 
pro on the sliding scale, the aim is clearly to shift the 
pendulum more and more the other way.

But the issue of pros playing for clubs is a thorny one which has attracted biting criticism from certain quarters.

The now former Gala coach George Graham didn’t hold back when he launched a scathing attack on the 
system back in January, describing the lottery of professional allocation through the draft system as “an absolute joke” which distorted 
the league.

It cropped up again last weekend when experienced Edinburgh hooker Neil Cochrane scored both Heriot’s tries in their cup final win over 
Melrose. That was Cochrane’s first game for the Goldenacre club all season and he was back in the blue and white hoops, and scoring again, at Millbrae on Saturday.

Other coaches are far more relaxed about the state of affairs. John Dalziel of Melrose spoke about the desire to “professionalise” the league in the wake of that cup final loss.

After Saturday’s triumph, Smith said: “This year has been difficult because of the World Cup and the way it was structured.

“Nobody knew who they were getting from the start of the season.

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“Hopefully, next season 
we will know who we are getting. If we can fix that I think that it will be easier on the 
supporters.

“It has worked well for us the last couple of weeks. It’s just part of the game.”

His Ayr counterpart Calum Forrester was equally sanguine and said: “It’s about building the link between the Premiership and the pro game, these guys need to play.

“I think we have shown that we have a good track record with guys getting an opportunity to step up.

“This is a good hunting ground for young players in the west, and that’s the opportunity we want to give.”

A Scottish Rugby spokesperson said: “We are content with the league structure in place with a ten-team BT Premiership and play-off system but, as always, we welcome suggestions and feedback from the clubs through the established and respective forums.”

The double success was another feather in the cap of Smith, who earlier this year led the Scotland Club XV to a historic double over England and Ireland.

The victory over the English Counties at Netherdale was a brilliant showcase for the talent in the club game as a performance of fizzing tempo and expansive positive attack led to a brilliant 57-27 win.

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It is a role Smith has said he would be keen to continue in next year.

There is no denying that club rugby faces many challenges and disagreements, often passionate ones, on the best way forward will continue. However, it remains the case that a good product is there to work with.

The cup final didn’t quite live up to its pre-match billing, unfortunately, but many of the other matches at the business end of the season were crackers. One stand-out example was the thrilling Currie-Heriot’s Premiership semi-final – a raucous atmosphere, the lead changing hands five times and ultimately won by a last-gasp drop goal.

The hundreds who paid a tenner for that one certainly got more bang for their buck than the three thousand or so who attended the Edinburgh-Zebre encounter the previous evening.

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