Chalmers rages at non-Scots influx

From today's Hootsmon:

Interview: Craig Chalmers rages over non-Scots influx

By DAVID FERGUSON

MELROSE coach Craig Chalmers is urging pro clubs to help develop home talent, and not rely on overseas players.

It is no secret that Chalmers hankers after a job in professional rugby, nor that the SRU seems reluctant to offer the former Scotland fly-half an opportunity. But as the 43-year-old launches Melrose into pre-season for the sixth season as head coach, another clutch of young Scots are hoping to reap the 
benefit of him remaining a Greenyards fixture.

The benefit he sees is two-fold: helping Melrose to retain their place at the top of Scottish club rugby and providing a springboard for players to the professional game, and, for some, international honours.

These targets underpin the excitement and enthusiasm for rugby that still emanate clearly from him, despite a number of brush-offs from the SRU in his bid to join the full-time establishment of professional coaches.

But he admitted that his greatest frustration was now coming from the signing policies of Glasgow and Edinburgh. More specifically, he is furious at the number of non-Scots-qualified players joining the pro team ranks at a time, he believes, when the quality of the top club players in Scotland is growing.

Chalmers attracts criticism close to home, for encouraging players to the Greenyards from other Borders clubs, but when asked about the latest influx, which includes Andrew Nagle from Jed-Forest, Lewis Mallin from Kelso, ex-Heriot’s fly-half Richard Mill, from Esher, and Australian Greg White, he holds up his hands.

“When I was a player I wanted to be the best I could be and, fortunately, Melrose were the best club in Scotland in many ways,” he said. “But these days it is different because the clubs are no longer the top of the tree or the stepping stone to international rugby.

“So, we have had players coming to us from clubs like Jed-Forest, Kelso and Hawick, great clubs but clubs in the Second Division, and these boys now see us, and the First Division and British and Irish Cup, as a stepping stone to their ambition of being a pro. And they’re right to. James King came to Melrose to help him get back into the pro game; Fraser Thomson came to us from Gala and is now with Glasgow; same with Bruce Dick; and Scott Wight obviously got his chance after his performances for the club.

“People talk about us paying money, but we don’t. We pay two or three only, and try to help guys travelling with a shared car or flat, but Nagle, Mallin and great Melrose servants like Graeme Dodds, etc, don’t get a penny. We can’t offer what some other clubs do financially. Instead, we offer the chance to win things, enjoy top-level club rugby and progress in the game, not that the pro team coaches care.”

There it was. It is invariably there. The sting in the tail. Chalmers is a passionate individual, but also a direct, sometimes brash one. Speaking about trying to keep a club in a town of 2,000 people competing with the best in Scotland, clubs drawing on locals and students across Dundee, Edinburgh, Ayr, Glasgow and Stirling, he is full of warm enthusiasm.

He praises rival Borders clubs, singling out Gala, for their efforts to grow rugby in difficult times. But what has possibly cost him appointments within the SRU, alongside a belief from those on high that he is not a good enough coach, has been his innate ability to find confrontation.

And on his mind right now is the signing of Fijian scrum-half Nikola Matawalu, Tongan Viliami Ma’afu and Canadian Taylor Paris by Glasgow, and the horde of new arrivals at Edinburgh that include Ben Atiga, Greig Tonks, John Yapp, Mike Penn, Perry-John Parker and South African Izak van der Westhuizen.

None of them can play for Scotland, though some, who have never played Test rugby, might follow Tim Visser into the navy blue after waiting three years to qualify. Michael Bradley, the Edinburgh coach, and Townsend insist that they are vital to both teams’ efforts to not only remain competitive in the RaboDirect PRO12 and Heineken Cup, something neither side has managed in the past decade, but take the next step and claim silverware.

Chalmers does not have an issue with top-quality foreign signings, into which bracket All Black Angus Macdonald at Glasgow and Edinburgh prop WP Nel may fall, believing that they can enhance the Scottish squads, but states that his task of developing Scottish players is given a hollow ring by the signing of foreign youngsters.

“I have nothing against these players, but why are they here?” he asks. “They may help these teams, may strengthen them, but so would some club players at Melrose, Gala, Ayr, Dundee and other clubs.

“I look at boys being signed from Worcester, Cardiff, Canada and wherever – some who will never play for Scotland – and you’ve got to ask why? We have to invest in young Scottish players that club coaches are working very hard to develop and turn into pros and internationalists. Why sign a Welsh scrum-half and a Fijian scrum-half for our two pro teams who can never play for Scotland?”

Many will agree with Chalmers’ sentiments, certainly judging by the reaction on scotsman.com to our interview with Taylor Paris yesterday, but Michael Bradley and Gregor Townsend will argue that the SRU have tried to stay mainly Scottish and the teams have failed to qualify in Europe, struggled to contest silverware and the national team has suffered. They will say that they cannot compete with the top Irish provinces, Welsh regions and French and English clubs without more hard-edged players, with different skills, from outside the country.

Chalmers contests: “I’m not against the pro teams bringing in good-quality, overseas players, like Todd Blackadder for example, but they have to be the right ones. I’m against bringing in guys who are not as good as players we have here.

“Our job is to make the players attractive to the pro teams, but they have to have faith in us and them. Rather than sign a Fijian or Welsh scrum-half, why not leave the door open for Murray McConnell, the youngster from West of Scotland who was playing for the under-20s this season?

“Fund him on a proper contract and make it easier for him, rather than leaving him scraping around on £10,000 or £12,000 a year, while five or ten times that goes to a player who will not help the Scottish game.

“We have good players coming through the clubs, but we can only do so much training twice or thrice a week. We’ve seen the benefit this year of giving young Scottish club players chances with Greig Laidlaw, Lee Jones and Stuart Hogg coming through. We should have more faith in our club players.”

Chalmers has recently returned from a three-week visit to Australia, part-funded by the SRU. His assistant, John Dalziel, is also heading off to South Africa as part of an SRU-funded programme to help develop Scottish coaches. Chalmers spent time with rugby union, league and Aussie Rules clubs, and was allowed into the Wallabies camp for a couple of days, and it only fuelled his desire to turn pro as a coach, somewhere.

“It has certainly been good for me. Will it make me a better coach? I don’t know. It’s opened my eyes to a lot of things, but it also reaffirmed that most of the stuff we’re doing here is very similar.”

I think basically he is right - there is no point bringing in a non-Scots player when there is a Scot playing at one of the prem clubs that is equivalent - I'm happy to make the odd exception, but it does seem to me that the pro-districts might have gone a little too far with signings this year, unless some of them are identified as 'project' players that might develop and eventually reach a standard to play for Scotland.

Good to see that Chalmers has had his coaching horizon broadened with his stint in Oz

Given that you only have 2 teams where the SRU has control, and the increased funding to those teams, I'd have thought they should be going almost 100% Scottish. I don't think it's an issue with the quality of players. I'd say there are enough good enough players to make up two squads to quality of most other sides. The odd Poopie-hot foreigner approved by the SRU would be fine. Some of the guys brought in don't seem to be of a particular high standard.

I can certainly understand why it's frustrating some within the Scottish system.

Please excuse my ignorance but is there no 'feeder' system within the Scottish set up? Do the clubs not provide players to the regions like they do in Wales? Would seem like a waste of talent if there is no such link.

Carpe Diem wrote:Please excuse my ignorance but is there no 'feeder' system within the Scottish set up? Do the clubs not provide players to the regions like they do in Wales? Would seem like a waste of talent if there is no such link.

I think there has been so many(by Scottish standards) new players come through the system and now regulars at the Pro teams in the last 2 years that there's not really any left to pick up that are ready. The ones that are good are in the system and have a Pro or 7s contract.

If you think, a Scottish fan or even a pro team supporter hadn't even heard of Matt Scott or Stuart Hogg before the start of last season. Then you have Dave Denton, Rob Harley, Duncan Weir and Tom Brown all have become more prominent in their pro teams and have now been capped in the last year

Carpe Diem wrote:Please excuse my ignorance but is there no 'feeder' system within the Scottish set up? Do the clubs not provide players to the regions like they do in Wales? Would seem like a waste of talent if there is no such link.

That would rather suggest that there was some talent in the amature clubs.


If the SRU is going to seriously try and staff its pro clubs and national side with exclusively pure blooded Scotfolk if will have to put a lot more of its non existant resources into the grassroots and local academies so that there are enough kids in their late teens with the required levels of fitness and basic skills to step up to the pro level.
Given the complete lack of infrastructure in Scotland, the lack of good coaching, and the lack of funds to change that, and the relatively low levels of interest in rugby across most of the country, its hardly surprising they bring in a fair number of plastic Scots from countries which have much better development facilities.

Yes where there is an equivalent player of course they should always look to the local ones first. Were Hamish McVisser playing at Melrose Im sure he wouldve been snapped up. the fact this happens so rarely suggests to me not that the SRU is obsessed with racial mixing but that they cant find the equivalent players in their own system. Thats partly the price of them focussing their meagre resources on a very small group of elite players to get two vaguely competitive pro club teams and a national side that has avoided humiliation on a regular basis.

Matt Scott certainly got his chance because of his form for Currie the season before last. Im fairly sure I read an interview somewhere where he was saying he was only ever on the fringes of age grade teams and didnt believe he would ever progress higher, until he spearheaded Curries back division along with Dougie Fife and Tom Brown.

From an Edinburgh perspective we have quite a lot of young Scots guys who will get game time this year. Leonard, Hunter, McAlpine, Fife Farndale, off the top of my head, add that to those already mentioned and that looks OK to me. What Bradley has done is strengthen the squad with experience, rather than hang onto the mid / end career guys who were either retiring, moving on by choice or not good enough. I'm happy with that as they will be working with the young guys in training and should help them develop.

Interesting to note Simon Webster who sadly is one of the guys moved on, unlucky with injuries, noted this week that Farndale is stronger and faster at 18 than he ever was.

I'm pretty happy with Edinburgh's blend of young Scottish talent and foreign imports. We're pretty close to having too many foreigners, but I do think we're on the right side of the line - just. One or two more in key positions and I'd have a different opinion. Unless it was SBW or McCaw!

It has been mentioned already - Edinburgh needed better squad depth to compete and that wouldn't have come from the club game in Scotland.

And when you consider Alun Walker, Gilchrist, McAlpine, McInally, Denton, Jones, Alex Black (Scottish), Leonard, Hunter, Scott, Farndale, Fife etc are all under 23 or so and Scottish qualified - all those guys will see a lot of game time this year.

That's 12 guys mainly come from the club game that are going to be part of the 1st team squad!

So I don't think it is quite so bleak!

RDW_Scotland wrote:I'm pretty happy with Edinburgh's blend of young Scottish talent and foreign imports. We're pretty close to having too many foreigners, but I do think we're on the right side of the line - just. One or two more in key positions and I'd have a different opinion. Unless it was SBW or McCaw!

It has been mentioned already - Edinburgh needed better squad depth to compete and that wouldn't have come from the club game in Scotland.

And when you consider Alun Walker, Gilchrist, McAlpine, McInally, Denton, Jones, Alex Black (Scottish), Leonard, Hunter, Scott, Farndale, Fife etc are all under 23 or so and Scottish qualified - all those guys will see a lot of game time this year.

That's 12 guys mainly come from the club game that are going to be part of the 1st team squad!

So I don't think it is quite so bleak!

I'm with you on this one RDW. If Scotland were to only pick from the club set up the pro teams would not be able to compete, there simply isn't the depth of quality. I also don't think things are as bleak as Chalmers makes out, RDW has mentioned the Edinburgh players but across the road there is: Fusaro, Weir, Campbell, Hogg, Horne, Harley etc etc who have all come through the club game and who will all see game time. I have raised my eyebrows at a couple of the signings, but on the whole I think there is a good mix this year.

I do have sympathy for his message, there have been a couple of questionnable signings this season. I remain unconvinced that John Yapp is going to bring a huge amount to the table and whilst rumours are Taylor Paris is pretty quick, there are some good young wingers in Scotland.

On the whole though I think both pro sides have done a pretty good job in striking the right balance between Scots, potential Scots and NSQ. I wouldn't want anymore NSQs, and I do think as above a couple of NSQs could be of a higher calibre, but it isn't an ideal world we live in.

On the coaching point, ironically the worst appointment in recent times is a Scot, Gregor Townsend. I think Chalmers could have a pretty good case of saying he has a better pedigree. The jury is still out on Bradley, but he was an experienced coach at a professional level.

Would Chalmers work well as an assistant? Doubt it - too much ego. Is he good enough or rather experienced enough to land a top job at a pro side? Not in my view, but then neither was Townsend. We have only two pro sides and we need the best coaches possible. Frankly I care not whether they are Scottish or not. Coaches like Redpath and Tom Smith did the right thing. Worked their way up through the professional ranks elsewhere - a far easier transition to make than going from amateur to professional.

Carpe Diem wrote:Please excuse my ignorance but is there no 'feeder' system within the Scottish set up? Do the clubs not provide players to the regions like they do in Wales? Would seem like a waste of talent if there is no such link.

"Pontypridd RFC has confirmed its allocation of Blues Academy players for the coming season.

Welcoming the five regional academy players to the Ponty ranks, the club’s senior coach Dale McIntosh said:
“We are again grateful to the Blues for their co-operation, and we will make the most of this opportunity to help develop local talent to progress to fully professional status."
http://www.ponty.net/ponty-bolstered-by-regional-allocation

In Scotland all the premier 1 clubs take their pick of all the players in a draft format, so the young guys do play for the clubs.

In my opinion Scotland should attempt to get four sides, each representing a region. Each region should be made up of 5-10 clubs. Who form a league at youth level. The best players from each district come together to compete against other districts at the same age. Then the districts feed into the regional sides which becomes an academy at the age of 16. I believe they should sell 50% of each team, they could then let the sides run themselves therefore if Glasgow and Edinburgh wanted to sign foreign players they could and no one would care because there is space elsewhere to play Scottish players however I think they should bring in rules that 75% of players should be Scottish and 45% should be from the region therefore the teams will develop pride for their area.
I also think they should set up a school league system and offer financial incentives for the winners the schools could feed into clubs, the league system could work on a district to regional to national status meaning that the top players would be playing each other from a young age; I also think they should try to set up an u16 Celtic cup and an U18 celtic league. This would mean that the Scottish players would have to play the best more regularly and so would become better at scoring against top sides. I think they should also do summer tours with the age group national side to to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa so they get used to challenging themselves.
Glasgow and Edinburgh could sign top quality foreign players meaning there is a high chance of qualifying for the latter stages of the Heineken cup therefore our best players would spend more time playing the best players and as a result would be better at playing them. Has no one realised that the reason we don't score tries is not that the team's coaching is poor it's because until the age of 18 our players are used to being head and shoulders above the opposition and so find it easy to score.

Hmm. What Chickadee is basically saying that if he were manager (SRU, nudge, nudge, saynomoresaynomoresquire) he would have done more for Scottish rugby.

I wouldn't ever claim that my knowledge of young Scottish players is even approaching being comprehensive but nobody jumps out at me as being an outstanding young SQ player who is not already affiliated to either the 7s team, our professional sides through McPhail and/or EDP arrangements or another professional club.

Sorry Craig - but I disagree. I think that with the exception of a few signings (not mentioning any Yapps, sorry, players in particular) the pro-sides have done a good job with their newly enhanced budgets.

Taking players that have proven themselves in the past to be excellent but who may have flown under the rugby world's radar for a while (Atiga, Macdonald and Nel are good examples) is a very smart move and Lineen will unearth more of them, I have no doubt.

Agreed GC - at the moment the balance is pretty good and we are not yet at the stage of having top quality players kicking their heels. In fact the pro sides still have quite a few week spots in the squads, as demonstrated by a couple of less than stellar imports having to be drafted in. Setting up one or two extra regions at the moment isn't practical from a financial nor a player perspective. We don't have the players or the money to make it work. Let's focus on what we currently have, and make it better, for now.

I think the club set-up, and how players transition from the amateur to the pro set-up, is currently good.

The schools aspect of things is still shockingly poor, and more needs to be done here to get kids playing rugby so that we have more depth come the next generation, and generally more support for rugby in Scotland.

Chalmers is off point though. This article isn't about Scottish rugby, it's about him.

I fully agre with chalmers that it is dangeros for scotland who only has the two professional teams in the RABO to consider which positions they sign players into.

Realistically they can really only develop 2 players per position per team?

So if half of the players in a certain position is non Scottish it severely reduces depth in that position.

I think everyone under the sun agrees with that in principle. The point Chalmers is making though is that the pro clubs currently have it wrong, and were he in charge, he'd do better.

Firstly I don't think the balance is currently wrong.

Secondly I see no evidence to suggest Chalmers would be better.

I'm not anti-Chalmers at all. I like that he sticks it to the SRU every now and then. Keeps everyone honest. If he were half the coach he thinks he is though, he'd be a great coach indeed.

Not sure it's possible at a biomolecular level for me to agree more.

Chick has every right to be pished off that Toonie is Robinson's poodle and has been given one of Scottish rugby's plum coaching jobs on the basis of little experience and a poor track record in his current day job.

That said, it's happened now and Chalmers should get his head down, have a great season at Netherdale and start putting up his hand early if (please god, surely not "when") Toonie decides to squander the best overall squad of players that Glasgow has had in ten years.

biltongbek wrote:I fully agre with chalmers that it is dangeros for scotland who only has the two professional teams in the RABO to consider which positions they sign players into.

Realistically they can really only develop 2 players per position per team?

So if half of the players in a certain position is non Scottish it severely reduces depth in that position.

The funding for the Scottish teams is increasing and I imagine they want to develop squads to compete in both the RABO and the HEC. So there will be some enforced rotation (due to internationals if nothing else) so more that 2 players will be getting time in each position. If there isn't the depth for 2 full squads of Scottish players they can be bolstered by non-Scottish players. The younger Scottish players will get their chance and if they perform they'll force their way ahead of the foreign player (I'm more of a fan of this than just chucking in young players because there's no-one else). With only 2 teams it does need active management though regarding positions

I think the centralised funding ensures that management. The only position where we have NSQs potentially playing 1st choice at both clubs is number 8 - Ma'afu and Talei (with Basilia as cover).

I think this has been permitted though given that Wilson, McInally and Denton are also getting good game time, and Hogg, Taylor, Beattie and Vernon play 8 elsewhere. It's a position of strength, but the SRU obviously feel that adding top quality talent like Talei and Ma'afu does us no harm.