The north schools say they have been plunged into a rugby crisis because of the SRU. Now, there are good and bad people in the world. One of the good ones is Colin Baillie, a teacher at Millburn Academy in Inverness, and when he says he is ''disgusted,'' and that things are ''outrageous,'' then you know that something has happened. Bad, and ignorant enough, says Baillie, to kill school rugby in the north.
What has happened, of course, is that the SRU tried to merge the north schools and the midlands schools, but, Baillie understands, now that the midlands have refused to be merged - something the north were always against - there is the suggestion that the best north players will be farmed out to the other districts. Which is truly astonishing. What it has led to, believe it or not, is the resignation of the whole of the north schools committee in protest, and an upcoming vote of no confidence in the Scottish Schools Rugby Union.
''The SRU really don't know what they are doing here,'' says Baillie, fuming. ''We want our own identity. Every headmaster that I know has written to the folk in charge saying that they would be delighted for our players to play for our district. You have to realise that we have a large number of very good players up north. At the moment we have 12 of the Scottish Under-16 squad, and just as things are starting to grow then this happens. Why are the north schools being so badly treated in the proposed new schools inter district competition 'agreed' by the Scottish Schools Rugby Union? They were made aware of the strong feeling of the teachers in the north that this new treatment will sound the death knell for school rugby in most of the north schools. It really is a disgrace.''
Baillie has been teaching rugby for as long as I can remember. He is a well-kent face in Inverness, and countless kids have been given the joy of rugby from his promptings. He is distraught that this really will kill the game, for without ambition then what do you have?
''The Scottish Schools Rugby Union told us that the north and the midlands would merge at Under-18 level to get stronger districts to help with a better Scottish XV,'' says Baillie. ''Although we did not protest too much against that we asked if the inter-district competition could be maintained for our north schools, and that was turned down for all sorts of daft reasons like taking time off school. The latest we have heard is that our best players would be farmed out to other districts! This is absolutely astonishing and I cannot believe the decision to be real.''
Baillie's vision is of a strong north region, and maybe that has always been part of the problem. The majority of Scotland's players are in the central belt, and the travel is not only costly but time-consuming, but there's no doubt that the north's legacy includes Rowen Shepherd - a Caithness boy - and the likes of Nairn McEwan and Gregor McKenzie. Folk from the north are a good bit tougher than us, and the fact that it's a pain in the backside to travel to the likes of Orkney shouldn't be a factor in whether we give an area of Scotland autonomy to bring on the best players into our game.
''We are also worried about our under-15 and under-16 development squads who played at the same time as the under-18 team but who now apparently have no games,'' continues Baillie. ''Or at least they haven't been mentioned. What will happen to their development?''
There are obviously more questions than answers here, but I trust Baillie's intuition in this one, and he is an alarmed man.
''In my 37 years in school rugby I have never before been so worried about the situation as it is now in the north schools,'' he says. ''It actually causes me sleepless nights and all I want is a fair deal for the promising young school players in the area - and there are a good number of them. The reality is that now they may never get the opportunity of good competition dues to so me narrow mindedness of a committee who are elected to foster rugby and not kill it! I am a desperate man from the north.''
Which sounds alarmist, but might be reality. The facts are that northern school teachers have written to the SSRU wanting their region to remain. Maybe, just like the amalgamation of four districts into two, some of this is for financial constraint reasons. And if all you think about is money then you really are up the proverbial creek without a paddle.
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