SRU’s plan to make Murrayfield a ‘bio-bubble’ for live sport

Dominic McKay reveals talks aimed at making rugby venue a safe place for teams and players
The SRU say Murrayfield ‘lends itself to being configured in any way we wish it to be configured’. Picture: Gary Hutchison / SNS Group / SRU)The SRU say Murrayfield ‘lends itself to being configured in any way we wish it to be configured’. Picture: Gary Hutchison / SNS Group / SRU)
The SRU say Murrayfield ‘lends itself to being configured in any way we wish it to be configured’. Picture: Gary Hutchison / SNS Group / SRU)

Reality is dawning that a return to rugby, and sport of any kind as we love and know it, remains a time away as the country continues to grapple with the ruinous coronavirus crisis.

It is incumbent on the governing bodies to prepare for a situation when some semblance of normality can resume and the Scottish Rugby Union believes it will be ready to meet the challenges when restrictions start to lift.

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SRU chief operating officer Dominic McKay believes the asset of the biggest sports stadium in the land – BT Murrayfield – provides an advantage that can be utilised and offered plans in a meeting with the Scottish Government this week which was also attended by chiefs of football and horseracing.

“We’re just scoping that out,” said McKay of the idea that 67,500-capacity Murrayfield could be viewed as a kind of “bio-bubble”.

“This week’s conversation with the government was just the first step on that journey, to say, ‘is this something that would be of interest?’

“The feedback we got was that they would like us to develop that concept a bit further so we’ll now take it away. It covers a whole raft of areas, but we’re fortunate that we have a great, large, open-air site at Murrayfield which lends itself to being configured in any way we wish it to be configured.

“It’s a very flexible space, so anything from managing the entry – who comes in and out – to thermal imaging opportunities on arrival, the one-way system around the site, the ability for players to park at the side of the pitch and go straight on to that pitch from their car.

“We’ve got some thoughts on that, but we’re going to detail it a bit further and that’s the work that’s being done by James Robson and the team. We’ve got some smart people looking at that, looking at examples of best practice from other parts of the world.”

With social distancing likely to remain in place for some time even after lockdown is finally eased, it goes without saying that any feasible return to contact sport would be reliant on extensive testing to ensure safety even in a behind-closed-doors setting.

Currently, national testing is primarily focused on NHS and frontline workers, as well as a push in care homes, and McKay recognises that there would need to be sufficient capacity beyond that priority.

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“One of our guiding principles on restarting rugby is making sure we complement the NHS and do nothing to detract from the focus they have on protecting lives,” he said. “We would only want to restart rugby when it’s appropriate to do so, and we will be entirely guided by the government on that. We take our responsibilities very seriously.”

World Rugby has produced an initial “return to rugby” document outlining proposals for when that stage becomes possible and McKay welcomes its recommendations.

“It’s an extremely helpful document and we’ve been party to its development through [chief SRU medic Dr] James Robson and the Pro14. Within the Pro14, we’ve developed a series of documents around return protocols for our clubs. We want to ensure that we collaborate, both across different sports but importantly all the way through rugby too. From World Rugby at the top all the way down to messaging at the grassroots.

“World Rugby will guide our thinking and we’ll fit the relevant elements that are appropriate for each country. It’s a helpful and timely time for that document to be shared.”

McKay welcomed the collaborative atmosphere across all sports and government agencies in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“From our point of view, it’s genuine and it’s real, both in terms of Scotland and an international perspective. We’re seeking guidance from all sorts of different countries, tapping into different best practice guidelines,” he said.

“For us to solve the sporting challenge that we’ve got, we must collaborate, and I was very strong on that at Tuesday’s meeting. In Scotland sometimes we’re a bit parochial, so if we can collaborate around how stadia might operate, how training venues might operate, how grassroots might operate in terms of messaging and advice, that can only be a good thing for the whole country right now.

“A silo mentality won’t help anyone. What the government is going to look to sport to do is come with some solutions, and if those solutions cross the different ball shapes, that will be a very helpful thing. We’ve got a job to do to try and help government, and the best way we can do that is through collaboration.”

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Football has been agitating for as swift a return as possible, as early as June, which seems unlikely and McKay insisted that rugby will maintain a cautious but optimistic approach.

“I can only speak for us. From our point of view, we know that we’ve got to get back playing sport when it’s appropriate,” said the man who is effectively No. 2 to chief executive Mark Dodson, right. “Of course, our players take a number of weeks to get up to full match-readiness. So we’ve got perhaps a little bit of in-built protection with our need to start.

“The wider point is that we need to collaborate around various areas and we need to share ideas. For example, we’ve got a working group among the chief medical officers who are meeting regularly and sharing ideas and feeding that into our Threat Management Group, and likewise with the equivalent football one.

“The key medical officers recognise and the sports agencies recognise that, by working closely together, that gives us the best chance to restart sport.

“I would hope that all sports take that opportunity. Sports that don’t take that opportunity may be left behind.”

The financial implications of a prolonged shutdown are obvious, with Dodson stating that a minimum of £12 million will be lost to the union coffers if the three home autumn Tests against New Zealand, Argentina and Japan are cancelled. That is before taking into account lost revenue from the loss of the summer tour games in South Africa and New Zealand, the Guinness Pro14 income and all other rugby activity across the land.

“Mark was speaking about the £12m a few weeks ago in respect of our three autumn Tests. But I think we can safely assume that the number would be north of that on the basis that, if we don’t have autumn Tests, then you also wouldn’t have any professional rugby taking place in Scotland,” McKay added. “Importantly, you also wouldn’t have grassroots rugby taking place in Scotland. So it would have a profound and significant impact on our finances.

“We’ve seen the numbers that have been shared by others and the numbers that were shared at the DCMS [government Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee committee].

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“It just shows that every governing body – regardless of size or financial muscle – is facing an enormous challenge.

“The only way that we’re going to protect our respective sports is by making some tough decisions, but also by working really closely with our governments. Our governments will be key to getting sport restarted.

“Once sports restarts, only then can the sport start generating revenue again to protect itself.”

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