Guest Blogger: Optimism for Scottish Rugby in 2017

Guest blogger and Glasgow fan 'The Pen' gives his views on the year ahead for Scottish Rugby.

As the dust settles on the first leg of the 1872 cup, it is clear that 2017 is going to become a very big year for Scottish Rugby.

Key players are out of contract, the head coach of the national side is leaving, at least one pro team will have a new head coach, Edinburgh have the Myreside experiment to come and there is the prospect of outside money being brought in to the game…

The next 12 months will be a real test of the SRU and the first place to start is the tying up of major contracts.

Over 50 Glasgow and Edinburgh players will be out of contract at the end of the 2015/16 season and it is down to the SRU to ensure that many of their big-name players extend their stay at Scotland’s pro-teams.

At Glasgow, Strauss Seymour, Dunbar, Horne, Reid, Vernon, Bennett, Puafisi, Favaro to name but a few are able to speak to other clubs and line themselves up for big money moves to the Aviva and Top 14. With Dave Rennie taking charge in the summer, there is no doubt that some of these players will be surplus to requirements and others will feel the time is right to move on in the careers to pastures new.

Along the M8 motorway in Edinburgh, they have fewer players out of contract but could see the loss of some of their biggest names. John Hardie has already been linked with a move to Wasps and with his reputation as a fearsome scrumagger, WP Nel could also call time on Edinburgh and top up his pension fund in the warmer climate of France.

The SRU cannot compete with the wages of the largest French and English teams so their job is to convince as many of those players that the next 2 or 3 years of their career are best spent in Scotland…

After relative success in the Autumn Internationals, Scotland will hope that Vern Cotter’s final 6 Nations campaign continues in the same vein and as a nation, Scotland should be targeting at least 3 wins. Not to be flippant, but I see no reason why they cannot gets wins over Wales and Italy and, having defeated them at Murrayfield this year and broken the hex they held over us, France are beatable. This of course depends on which France turns up!

Cotter’s reign has, by and large, been a success story for Scotland. Moments away from a World Cup semi-final, the win over France, improved performances and a game plan that makes us dangerous in the loose and tough to break down in defence.

The 6 Nations white wash in his first season however cannot be overlooked but I will be sorry to see “Big Vern” leave these shores for France.

His leaving will herald the beginning of the Townsend era and it will be of great interest to see how he makes the transition from club coach to national coach. He does of course have a significant advantage. He’s been Warriors head coach for 5 years now, employed by the SRU since Andy Robinson was in charge and he’s seen many of the current Scotland stars capped while coach of the Warriors.

Townsend has turned down the opportunity to go to New Zealand with The Lions and instead take his squad to Australia on tour. With opportunities limited to get the players together in the one place, this seems like a very sensible decision.

Edinburgh have their move to Myreside early in January and they simply have to make this work if they are to once again prosper as a club. Playing to small crowds of on average 4,500 at Murrayfield when the stadium holds over 67,000 simply is not working and the club is suffering badly because of it. With an increased capacity of around 6,000, Myreside will be present Edinburgh with a chance to build and identity the way Glasgow have at Scotstoun and if the trial period is successful, they will see all their games their (with exception of the 1872 game) there in the 2017/18 season. This really is make-or-break for Edinburgh and it will be a huge task for them to make it work.

They will also have to decide on their coaching set-up. Having parted company with Alan Solomons, Duncan Hodge has yet to set the heather alight as caretaker. Good results against Ulster, Harlequins and Stade Francais are negated by horrible losses to NG Dragons and Zebre. The SRU must therefore decide if they are going to give Hodge the chance at a full season in charge or will they bring in someone with more experience but run the risk of another Solomon or Michael Bradley scenario.

In Glasgow, Rennie will take charge in the summer and will require time to settle in and have the players adjust to his methods. There is also a settling in period for any new players he chooses to bring in and for that reason, 2017/18 could be a real season of transition for Glasgow.

Then there is the prospect of outside investment being allowed by the SRU for the first time. Will this lead to Glasgow and Edinburgh being able to loosen the purse strings or will it prove to be a quagmire of issues and problems that mean the idea never really gets off the ground? I think that issue is best left for another column.

So as 2016 disappears over the horizon, 2017 will be a year of real significance for Scottish Rugby.

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