A penny for Vern Cotter's thoughts.
Come to think of it, a penny for Finn Russell's. When the IRB yesterday released their list of officials for this autumn's Rugby World Cup, one name stood out. For Scotland's rugby community it really stood out.
Glen Jackson will make tournament history in September when the New Zealander becomes the first former professional player to take charge of a World Cup match. That the 39-year-old was the least experienced referee on the 12-strong list will have come as little surprise to those in the BT Murrayfield corridors of power.
It was at the national HQ where Jackson put himself at the centre of a Scotland storm in February when he marked his Six Nations debut with a display that continually perplexed and frustrated the hosts as they went down to Wales. Jackson sin-binned Russell for colliding with an airborne Dan Biggar, awarded the Welsh a mammoth 17 penalties and for good measure ended the match four seconds early to deprive Cotter's men of a last tilt at a match-winning try or levelling penalty.
"Since the 2011 World Cup we have been focused on developing a strong panel that can preside over the 48 matches at this year's tournament," chairman of the World Cup selection panel John Jeffrey said yesterday.
"The fact that seven of the referee panel were involved in the 2011 tournament points to the big-match experience that they hold. Between the 12 of them, they have refereed no fewer than 361 internationals."
For the record, just 10 of those Tests belong to Jackson. The French Rugby Federation supplies the biggest contingent in Jerome Garces, Romain Poite and Pascal Gauzere while England boast two in Wayne Barnes and JP Doyle.
The most experienced of the 12 is Welshman Nigel Owens, who has presided over 60 Tests and is considered by many to be the best referee in the sport.
Ireland's George Clancy and John Lacey, South African pair Craig Joubert and Jaco Peyper and a second New Zealander in Chris Pollock complete the selection.
Away from the Jackson appointment, what is perhaps of deeper long-term concern for the SRU however is the lack of a single Scottish referee amongst the dozen front-line officials, seven assistants and four TMOs selected for tournament duty with nine national federations represented.
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