IT is a sorry state of affairs when the messengers start shooting one another but last week's missive from an old pal who has worked for many years on a tabloid newspaper raised a wry smile.

"Just read your column," he wrote. "In fact, [Scotland's meeting with] USA at Hampden tomorrow made me think how good it would be to take sports desks and football writers - aka self-proclaimed 'sports writers' - to the USA to see how soccer struggles because the establishment backs NFL, baseball etc rather than recognise alternatives with appeal."

Before you fitba' fans out there become too agitated, remember that line about not shooting messengers. However, while I might not agree with all of my chum's sentiments - and his accusation certainly cannot be levelled at my colleagues at Herald Sport who are, of course, to be commended for their recognition of the need to offer quality coverage of the widest possible array of sports - I feel his pain.

Yet the thrust of my column last week was that those responsible for marketing "minority" sports in this country are themselves truly to blame for their lack of profile and that view was only reinforced by last weekend's discussion with Richard Maddieson, chief executive of the World Bowls Tour.

The bulk of that interview has appeared in Herald Sport but, as well as criticising his own sport's organisers for their lack of vision, Maddieson told me a thought-provoking tale from this summer when he was asked to set up a bowls taster site at a multisport event hosted by their sponsors.

"We laid out a carpet on the grass and I was amazed that, from 10 in the morning until four in the afternoon, the eight bowlers we had helping us did not have time for a brew," he explained. "That time was taken up showing bowls to youngsters from the age of nine to 16. They didn't just turn up once. We had queues and they were going back in the queue.

"There was football there, rugby there, cricket there, three of your top sports, all with names that people knew. We were there as WBT and bowls and I expected that, with that competition, we would not be busy because we were the minority sport. We were busy all day long. Football packed up at 2.30 and went home with little interest, the rugby guys were finished about three and there were still a few at the cricket.

"What genuinely surprised me was the interest level at that age. It's not WBT's remit to be looking at that, though. Local governing bodies should be doing that. Instead of trying to hype themselves up and leaving it to a club to organise youngsters, they need to be involved in these things."

Doubtless the appeal of the bowls to those youngsters was that it was so easy to pick up that they felt they could get better immediately, could become competitive - even if only with themselves - so were instantly hooked, whereas the other sports may have focused too much on skills.

We have, quite rightly, been told for decades that football's secret is that it is so easy for people to play, and therein lies the challenge and the opportunity for other sports.

That, in turn, got me thinking about the great Scottish success story of recent weeks which was the national team's remarkable performance in reaching the quarter-finals of the Rugby League World Cup. Since rugby league is hardly played in Scotland, the unexpectedness of their success was not dissimilar to the rise in cricket of Afghanistan, a country in which there are few cricket facilities.

What remains to be seen is whether the team's performance has offered the sport a lifeline hereabouts, since it happened at the very same time as its international authorities decided to withdraw all financial support for the Scottish game.

Meanwhile, the Scotland team was also astonished to receive messages of support from the Scottish Rugby Union but, if those were heartfelt rather than mere PR, the plight of Rugby League Scotland may offer the SRU an opportunity to prove their backing was genuine in ways that can help both sports.

After all, only last week George Graham, now coach of Gala and a Scotland internationalist in both codes, suggested that it would be to the benefit of every union player to spend a season playing league.

Take that in the context of my long-held suspicion that one of the reasons Ireland did so well when rugby union turned professional was that it suddenly became the sport of opportunity for youngsters brought up in both rugby union itself and Gaelic football.

Since Gaelic football remains an amateur game, the suspicion is that it has now inadvertently become a breeding ground for rugby union players since it teaches the necessary skills involved in handling, running sports, but does not offer the same career opportunities.

Whether league, if used more as an introductory version of rugby, could do the same for union in Scotland while also advancing its own cause has to be worth examining because it is decidedly easier to get to grips with.

It is about keeping it simple and maximising competitive fun . . . but most of all it is about getting out from behind spreadsheets and off backsides and giving youngsters, of all backgrounds, a genuine chance to sample a range of options and discover what suits them best.