SCOTTISH rugby may have its problems on the playing side, but commercially it is setting records and the future looks even rosier with the huge sponsorship deal that gave BT the naming rights to Murrayfield yet to show in the accounts.
That is the message the clubs will hear at the Scottish Rugby Union's annual general meeting today [SAT] as Mark Dodson, the chief executive, hails a financial performance that delivered almost a £1m in profit while still cutting the debt.
"We now have the opportunity to create a new era for Scottish Rugby," he will say. "A future that is properly financed through the transformational BT sponsorship agreement; a future that is professionally managed and governed by a revitalised Union; a future that sees schools, clubs and academies beginning to thrive once more, creating a pipeline of home-bred talent to feed all levels of the sport.
"Our intention to invest in the grassroots game has been well documented but until now we have been unable to match our ambition with money. Following the transformational agreement with BT we now have the means to future-proof the game in Scotland."
The key highlights of his state of the union address to the meeting will be the record turnover of £43.7m, which has seen spending on the international sides and the two professional clubs, Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh, rise by almost 50% from where it was five years ago to almost £24m. He will, however, acknowledge that the strong commercial performance has yet to have a serious effect on the playing side with only Glasgow's run to last season's league final representing a solid achievement as both pro clubs flopped in European competition, Edinburgh struggled in the league and the national side won only one match in the RBS Six Nations Championship.
One initiative to try to put all the teams back on a robust footing is that the SRU plans to create four academies and has already signed a deal with Aberdeen University to host the one in the north. The others will be in Galashiels, the Heriot-Watt University campus in Edinburgh and at a site yet to be finalised in north Lanarkshire. The contracts, though, have still to be signed.
Looking at these plans plus a variety of other initiatives, Dodson will tell delegates: "We have set in motion a blueprint for change that will revolutionise rugby across the nation."
The other significant development he will hail will be an increase in the television coverage on the BBC, with the Alba channel broadcasting 12 live matches and one deferred one before the end of the year while BBC2 Scotland will also show live professional club rugby. It will broadcast a minimum of six games in the first half of the season, including at least one Glasgow-Edinburgh derby.
For once there are no major changes being proposed at the meeting, with most of the agenda taken up with technical tinkering with the Union byelaws.
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