Rugby needs to have a reality check to end farcical position

Feb 25 2009 by Paul Thomson, East Kilbride News

THIS week’s news that East Kilbride Rugby Club have been given a free pass into the next round of the Scottish Cup is further evidence that a radical re-think is needed in terms of fixture scheduling.

Last week, it was all about how football has been hindered by our poor climate and this week we have discovered that the situation is just as bad for rugby clubs in Scotland as well.

The fact that the Scottish Rugby Union have had to make such a drastic decision to kick two teams out of the cup and deprive them of their opportunity to contest the match is out of order.

No matter what the weather is like, a solution could, surely, have been found to ensure the game was contested and a fair outcome was reached.

To throw teams out of a cup competition just because of their league ranking is ridiculous and even although East Kilbride have benefited from it, coach Fraser Stott is quite right to criticise the sport’s governing body.

And he has echoed a view that has been reverberating around the country in football circles during recent weeks.

This bizarre decision is perhaps a warning of what could happen in football competitions as well. And questions have to be asked if we can continue to hold our sporting events during the winter when common sense suggests that there is a better time of year to play competitive sport.

The reasons people normally give for rejecting the idea of summer sport are pretty poor – it would clash with holidays etcetera – and I don’t think anyone has come forward with a earth-shattering reason as to why it cannot be done.

The only way change ever happens is if people keep harping on about it and let their views be known to the powers that be. And the more people that come forward, the more the governing bodies will be forced to have a serious look at the state of our fixture schedules.

It must be embarrassing for some of them knowing that the slightest bit of overnight frost can cause weeks and weeks of postponements.

All clubs at amateur level have suffered from this kind of thing this year and even some of the professional sides have seen their pitches fall short of the required standard.

If they really want to see some change and make sure their clubs are playing week in, week out then clubs will have to come together and take a stand against playing through the winter.