A GBP 3MILLON cash windfall from the next World Cup and a new SixNations TV deal with the BBC were presented yesterday as reasons forthe Scottish Rugby Union's controversial decision to back the threeprofessional teams with increased funding.
The SRU pledged last week to support Edinburgh, Glasgow andBorders for the next three years, but on a trip to the ScottishParliament yesterday, officials from the Union were asked by MSPs tojustify the move.
Fred McLeod, the interim chairman and chief executive, SRUpresident Gordon Dixon and Ian McGeechan, the union's director ofrugby, were grilled for around two hours at Holyrood and none wasparticularly convincing.
McLeod said he was back in good health after a recent stay inhospital, but the trio's insistence that Scottish rugby had similarlyregained match fitness was less convincing. They were pressed on avariety of issues, from the reasons for last month's executive boardcoup to where new finance would come from.
McLeod said the International Rugby Board had agreed to compensatethe leading nations for their involvement in the 2007 Rugby World Cupinvolvement to the tune of GBP 3million per country. The expense ofcompeting in the tournament has long been a bone of contention forthe SRU as has the revenue lost from autumn internationals whichcannot be played in World Cup years. McLeod also confirmed the SRUhad agreed with France, the hosts of the 2007 tournament, thatScotland would play two World Cup matches at Murrayfield, against NewZealand and a qualifier.
Another new source of income is a lucrative new Six Nations TVdeal with the BBC, McLeod said.
It became clear, however, that the announcement last week tobacking the pro teams had been made to help secure a 'Celtic Accord',signed at a Celtic League meeting attended by McGeechan on Tuesday.This safeguards the future of the Celtic League for the next threeyears and the SRU's agreement was needed before Ireland committedtheir teams.
It was also confirmed that the Celtic Cup is to be dropped andCeltic League changed to avoid fixtures clashing with internationalweekends, as reported in The Scotsman last week.
The revamp is expected to help secure a sponsor for the league,but it remains a concern that the backing for the pro teams had beenmade on that premise, before any sponsor's money is in the kitty.
'We have had some fortuitous information since the sgm three weeksago,' McLeod said. 'The Six Nations contract with the BBC has beenrenewed and there is some substantially-enhanced funding coming fromthat, and there will be a three-year accord for the teams to play inthe Celtic League which makes the competition attractive to sponsorsand will generate additional revenues for us.
'We have also taken a strong hand in reviewing our budgets fornext year and maintaining our intended cash surplus for next yearwhile driving forward our three professional teams, which will bewell funded and hopefully further benefiting from franchising.'
It is understood the BBC deal will guarantee only around GBP600,000 per year more for the SRU, and even with the optimisticfigure of around GBP 500,000 coming to each nation from Celtic Leaguesponsors it still represents a small rise in pro-team funding at atime when they are virtually stripped to the bone. The World Cupmoney is substantial, but will not be paid for another two years.
The three men had been called to the parliament's enterprise andculture committee to explain who was, in effect, running the gameafter the recent coup and what was being done to take Scottish rugbyforward. They all reaffirmed the view that the strategic reviewprepared under the chairmanship of David Mackay, the ousted executiveboard chairman, and former chief executive Phil Anderton, was widelysupported and that it still formed the heart of their plans for thefuture. But there was still no cogent explanation as to why thegeneral committee had removed Mackay, nor any evidence to support theassertion that the men who led the coup would restore confidence.
The MSPs were forced to accept that little will become clear atleast until the new structure of governance is revealed. The SRUmembers insisted they could not comment on the plan as it was stillconfidential, though Dixon did reveal that the working party ongovernance was, after five meetings, now finalising itsrecommendations and that these would be presented to the generalcommittee on Monday. It will be debated on Wednesday and then, afteramendments had been added by the general committee, be presented toclubs at another sgm on 10 April.
McGeechan failed to state with any authority how and when hisambitious plans to turn around Scottish rugby would become reality.There was some unease as Anderton, called as a witness, cast doubt onwhether the proposed new governance would make any difference to thepower struggle which has enveloped the sport.
What the hearing did confirm was that the spotlight will remain onthe trio until genuine signs of hope for Scottish rugby presentthemselves.
