No doubt about the best sight in Scottish rugby in recent times – the happy face of Jacqueline Thomson as she handed the Hopetoun Cup to her grandson, Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu, after that brilliant victory over Australia on Sunday.
And it was brilliant. Remember this was the team that bested England at Twickers then trounced Wales in Cardiff, but Scotland outdid them four tries to one and it could have been more.
Tuipulotu and crew didn’t do as I advised and charge pell-mell at the Wallabies from the start. Instead, we saw a quite incredible defensive performance as Australia started with a huge physical effort that was matched, and eventually mastered, by the peerless pack of Scotland – every one of them a hero.
Yet even as the Scots went under the gold and green cosh, any time Scotland were able to attack it was clear they just needed some gaps to get the necessary scores. That Tuipulotu found the gap and forged his way past two despairing tackles for the opening score had me purring.
The second half saw Scotland display the attacking prowess we know they possess, and I need to single out Josh Bayliss for his bullocking side-stepping try, between Duhan van der Merwe’s record 30th try and Finn Russell completing a stunning move that included Blair Kinghorn’s scoring pass – a piece of quality that probably earned him the Player of the Match accolade, though four or five other Scots could have won that award.
Afterwards the Scotland camp took their cue from Tuipulotu and emphasised that it was not a perfect performance from the Scots. And it wasn’t – still too many errors and occasional indiscipline while Russell will need to get his goal kicking practice in.
I saw something, however, that gives me huge hope for the Guinness Six Nations. It’s years since I have seen a Scottish squad that had so much strength in depth and I can see that they have that vital ingredient that all the best teams in any sport always possess – they are working hard for each other, just as all the best Scottish teams did, and yes, I include the 1984 and 1990s Grand Slammers and the 1999 Five Nations champions.
Over the course of the last year I have seen truly admirable teamwork developing, and you get the sense that they actually like each other and while obviously there are individual talents such as Finn Russell, it is the way they have gelled as a team that is so pleasing.
I’ll tell you who else was delighted by the win at the weekend – the blazers at the top of the SRU. With the AGM tonight, the governing body can claim to be doing one of their two main jobs – putting a winning side in Scotland jerseys – at least adequately. Their other main task, running our sport in Scotland, is far from praiseworthy, however.
Rob Robertson as always has put the issues forensically well elsewhere on these pages, and I completely endorse his views on that dangers of the AGM being ‘remote’, but as I promised last week, I want to add my salvo.
Looking at the annual report and that much trumpeted record revenue of £73.9m, why were there were 12 month like-for-like losses of £8m, boosted to over £11m by outgoings that included having to pay former chief executive Mark Dodson and former finance director £1.15m in contractual departure costs?
I am the type of former trade unionist who sees that sum in contrast to the loss of 35 jobs since the summer and asks what process and safeguard procedures are in place to ensure that over-the-top salaries and associated incentives just don’t happen again? Who is going to ensure that similar patterns of overpaying of senior executives are at the very least properly managed on behalf of
the clubs who, as we’re constantly reminded, own the Union?
With particular reference to former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, what process do the nominations committee go through to recruit non-executive directors?
As approved by previous AGMs, 15% of turnover is supposed to go to the clubs. Will that continue?
The Scottish Government bailed out our sport post-pandemic with £20m. How exactly was that public money spent?
We know there has been an ongoing inquiry into how the SRU descended into a financial and governance morass, so when will Sheriff David Mackie’s report be completed and when will it be released to the clubs?
I’m told there is an issue about minutes of various boards and committees not being distributed within agreed timescales. If that’s the case, why?
Just looking at online minutes, why if companies agree to do work for the SRU are their names or organisations redacted in online reports? Secrecy always stinks…
Once last question, which maybe Sheriff Mackie might look into. There have been long-standing rumours about high heid-yins at Murrayfield in the past being too close to certain management groups. Wasserman Rugby, previously Esportif, has seven agents registered with the SRU, more than any other company and more than 20% of the total number of agents. Not casting any aspersions, but is that healthy?
I think we should be told…and preferably at tonight’s AGM.
