The Monday Bulletin (10th March): Scottish and Welsh clubs keep spirit of rugby alive
Today at 06:36 AM
by COLIN RENTON
Blues take first win in controversial fashion
The Super Rugby clash featuring Hurricanes at home to Blues – with former Scotland coach, Vern Cotter, in charge – ended in confusion amid suggestions that the visitors had attempted to cheat their way to victory. Blues were 33-29 ahead with a minute to play and earned a scrum five metres from their line. Replacement scrum-half Sam Nock suffered what appeared to be a leg injury, but Blues claimed that he had sustained a head knock and needed a HIA. That would have allowed All Black Finlay Christie to return to the field. Independent medical staff reviewed the situation and decided that Nock did not have a head injury. The Blues, who were down to 14 men following an earlier red-card for Hoskins Sotutu, held on for their first win of the campaign. The incident sparked heated debate, with some critics accusing Blues of attempting to cheat and others complaining about the time taken to review the situation and reach a decision. Tournament management reviewed the incident and concluded that no rules had been broken.
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Brown working to fight homelessness
Former Scotland captain Kelly Brown has continued to develop his post-rugby career by taking on the job as Director of Places for People Scotland, a charitable housing association. Brown, whose professional career featured spells at Border Reivers, Glasgow Warriors, and Saracens, moved away from rugby after a stint as a coach at Saracens. In his new role, the former back-row, who won 64 international caps, will seek to help address the issue of homelessness across Scotland.
Lost discipline leads to uncontested scrums
The MLR match between San Diego Legion and Old Glory ended with uncontested scrums after a series of refereeing decisions which included a yellow-card for former Glasgow Warriors prop, Djustice Sears-Duru. Legion's hooker Hugh Roach left the field injured and his replacement, Shilo Klein, was yellow-carded with two minutes to play. However, with an emergency hooker ready to step in for the final stage of the match, Sears-Duru was sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle and, as a result, the front row was so short of personnel that the final scrum was uncontested and 12-man Legion held on for a 26-10 win.
Stags maintain Welsh links …
Longstanding links between Scottish and Welsh clubs were celebrated on the eve of the Guinness Six Nations clash at Murrayfield. Among the matches that took place was the game at Glensburgh, where Grangemouth Stags hosted Llandybie, with the Alban Jenkins Shield up for grabs. The match has been played since 1957, the only missing years being when the weather intervened. The visitors took the honours on this occasion, edging home 10-7, to lift the shield for the first time since 2019, in front of a crowd that included 12 Stags club captains.
Click to view slideshow.… as do Hawick Harlequins
Meanwhile, Hawick Harlequins and Bargoed continued their not quite so long standing friendly rivalry, stretching back to 1966, with a clash at Mansfield Park, which was celebrated with short film below.
RFU loses another director
The RFU bonus scandal has evidently claimed another victim, with Stuart Ramsey, the commercial director, resigning from his post. Ramsey played a part in securing the £100 million deal to rename Twickenham the Allianz Stadium. He follows RFU chairman, Tom Ilube, who quit the governing body in December amid the furore surrounding a massive bonus paid to chief executive, Bill Sweeney, at a time when the RFU was making substantial losses. Ramsey, who is reported to have been disillusioned by events at the RFU, is taking up a new post with the Triathlon World Tour.
Nice looking at Wales to strengthen squad
Stade Nicois, the French club that had a link-up with Scottish Rugby for several seasons, now appears to be targeting Wales for new personnel. The club features on the CV of current Scotland hooker Dave Cherry and GB7s international Kaleem Barreto, as well as several others who have gone on to secure professional contracts. Currently sitting adrift at the bottom of the Pro D2 table, relegation to the third tier looks inevitable for Nice. The club is already strengthening its squad ahead of next season. Signings so far include Fijian centre Waisea Nayacalevu and Welsh international stand-off Owen Williams from Ospreys, as well as South African back-row, Uzair Cassiem, who is with Bayonne but previously played at Cardiff Blues. And it seems that Nice could be keen to lure another Cardiff man, Taulupe Faletau, who is reported to be the highest earner in Welsh rugby but is out of contract in the summer.
Lions to make a big occasion of squad announcement
The British & Irish Lions squad to tour Australia this summer will be announced on Thursday 8th May, with a break tradition allowing 2,000 fans to watch the grand unveiling in the flesh (rather than just a cohort of journalists). O2. A ticket ballot for the event at 02 in London will go live in the coming weeks.
New Lions training kit to honour Doddie
Canterbury of New Zealand have linked up with My Name'5 Doddie and The Lions Trust to launch a limited-edition training kit to raise funds for the charities. The kit features a jersey, t-shirt, quarter zip fleece and shorts, in the iconic British & Irish Lions red with ‘Doddie tartan’ and ‘#670’ detail (commemorating Weir’s own Lion’s number). A portion of every sale from the range supports the Foundation and The Lions Trust. You can see the full range HERE.
Silverware for Selkirk
Selkirk paused the challenge for a play-off spot in the Arnold Clark Premiership to claim silverware in the form of the BSPC Border League trophy. The Philiphaugh men chalked up a 57-12 win at home to Gala to land the title. Adding some sheen to the triumph was the inclusion in the squad of four players who had graduated from last season's Selkirk Youth Club side.
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The post The Monday Bulletin (10th March): Scottish and Welsh clubs keep spirit of rugby alive appeared first on Scottish Rugby News from The Offside Line.
