Returning to the past with new role

Rugby reporter

Monday 2 July 2012

As the presidency of the Scottish Rugby Union has long been considered to be the sort of sinecure reserved for the pathologically worthy-but-dull, and certainly not a job for life's natural cage-rattlers, the past few years have seen an improbable cast of characters shoehorned into the presidential blazer and handed the gold-plated keys to the Murrayfield gin cabinet.

Alan Lawson, the new Scottish Rugby Union president, says the organisation is 'in a good place'. Picture: PA

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Alasdair Reid

First, we had Andy Irvine, an establishment figure in some eyes but one who was still willing to man the barricades and play a significant part in the overthrow of the ruinous regime that was running the SRU in the early days of professionalism. Irvine then gave way to Ian McLauchlan, an individual whose standing in the Union a few years earlier actually plummeted to the point where they gave him a lifetime ban from the game for keeping the proceeds of his autobiography.

After two such abrasive characters, Alan Lawson's confirmation as president on Saturday might have been seen as a return to a more conciliatory way of doing things, but those with long memories might recall that the 64-year-old former scrum-half also spent some time on the Murrayfield naughty step, albeit more than a generation ago.Just as now, when debates rage over whether Chris Cusiter or Mike Blair (or Lawson's son Rory) should wear the Scotland No.9 jersey, in 1977 the country was split between the competing claims of Lawson, who played for Heriot's, and Stewart's Melville's Dougie Morgan. The selectors, however, favoured Morgan, a policy that meant Lawson regularly sat on the bench.And so, eventually, he told them where they could put their invitation. Yet while the tale has grown in the telling in the intervening 35 years, Lawson's first presidential act on Saturday afternoon was to make it clear that he had not in fact been throwing his toys out of the pram.His explanation was that, in the amateur era, players needed more game time to stay sharp. In short, had he been called into action after watching three games from the sidelines – back then, replacements were only used in case of injury – he would not have been ready to play Test rugby. "As an amateur, if you were involved in the Five Nations as it was then and you didn't play for three games, the chances are that when you came to the fourth and final game you might have played two games in five weeks. That wasn't the way to go," said Lawson."I said that if you're only playing a couple of times in a month then you're not going to be on your game. Was it a brave decision, a rash decision, a stupid decision? I basically said I don't think I can play as well for my country as I would like to if I'm not playing rugby on a regular basis."In any case, Lawson was back in the fold within two years, bringing his cap tally up to 15 by the time of his last Test – ironically, an appearance as a replacement against Wales – in 1980. Irvine and McLauchlan were also involved in that match, but Lawson concedes that many others of that era have lost their passion for rugby since."I think a lot of people of my generation have not found the professional game easy to come to terms with," he explained. "A lot of guys are less interested now. I took the view that it would be better to try and be involved by actively getting involved with the SRU."So what kind of president will he be? The role was foreseen as becoming primarily ambassadorial after the Murrayfield management meltdown of 2005, but it would certainly be true to say that McLauchlan and Irvine played more active parts than that. Will Lawson also be stirring things up?He doesn't think so. "I think there were exceptional circumstances when both Ian and Andy were there," he said. "I don't see anything like that sort of need at this time. The clubs select the president and the president plays a role; that role is clearly defined, but the need for a president to wield any power as such is only relevant in exceptional times."I think we're in a good place now. I will contribute as much as I can, but I think we have a terrific team now at Scottish Rugby and we need to get behind them and really drive through the strategy plan and everything else that we're looking to do."Ah, that strategy plan. In terms of debates, Saturday's annual meeting at Murayfield may have been the dullest SRU agm in history – and that's saying something – but it was enlivened by the unveiling of a four-year road map, with Scotland expected to win a grand slam and the 2015 World Cup.In truth, it also set noble, and probably more realistic, targets to boost pro team results and attendances, increase participation, reduce debt, increase involvement in coaching and get a Scottish referee on the IRB merit panel. But Lawson was still bullish about setting the bar so high."I don't think that anyone committing themselves to a professional life in rugby would set any lower targets," he said firmly. "I think a [Six Nations] championship would be a good start, but why not go for a grand slam? "In the past we've had to rely on other countries to some extent being in a rebuilding phase. What we're seeing now is that countries are getting stronger and stronger; so standing still is not an option. We have to be ambitious all the time in the way we approach the game."

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Returning to the past with new role

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