THE annual general meeting of the Scottish Rugby Union takes place at Murrayfield tonight with the centre-piece a head-to-head presidential election contested by incumbent George Jack and challenger Jim Stevenson.
It is the fourth election since the new ambassadorial-style role of president was created during the sweeping restructuring of SRU governance in the wake of the bitter general committee coup of 2005. In comparison to those turbulent days, Scottish r
ugby's waters have calmed significantly and tonight's AGM promises to be the most placid for some time.
However, there may in some quarters be discontent about the fact Jack has decided to stand for a second and final term in office. While this is perfectly within his rights – the union's bye laws merely state that a president can only be elected twice – some view this as being against the spirit of the rules for what is expected to be a one-year position.
Andy Irvine was persuaded to stay on for a second term in 2006 due to the exceptional circumstances facing Scottish rugby at the time and the need for an influential and unifying figure in the post.
It is difficult to see what exceptional circumstances currently exist that require the former general committee man to stretch out his time to its maximum limit.
Jack, the member of Biggar and Leith RFCs, replaced Irvine last summer, pipping Peter Brown and tonight's opponent Stevenson in an extremely close vote.
He has taken a much more low-profile approach to his illustrious predecessor, spending less time at the sharp end of Scottish rugby politics and more focusing on the grassroots by visiting clubs to listen to their concerns.
He has set out his stall ahead of tonight's vote by proposing to advocate radical change to the domestic season's structure, including the controversial plan to put the national cup competitions into abeyance for a year next season as a new way forward is plotted.
Jack explained recently: "The structure of the season is one of the bug-bears of people's lives and I know many people in the game feel we've been staggering around for years continually making changes with little real benefit.
"The message I've received from many clubs is that the SRU has to take a firmer lead – listen to views, develop a plan of action and act. I won't duck that so that's what we've done and while I know it will never please everyone my hope is that clubs come together to make it work and give us something to build on and improve from."
It is certainly the case that the hopelessly disjointed club season is something that requires a decisive and long-term solution. However, it is hard to argue that this constitutes the kind of crisis that requires a second term.
What's more, not far removed from the old 'buggin's turn' days, the president is a ceremonial position rather than an executive one. If Jack wishes to propose his ideas for a new club season it is unclear why he needs the president's blazer to do this.
Just this week, while giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament's health and sport committee at Murrayfield, chief executive Gordon McKie said that the SRU had a governance structure that was now the envy of many sports bodies throughout the country and beyond. In the spirit of this new transparent era of institutional robustness at Murrayfield, there may be some uneasiness at the unnecessary extension of a period in office, with all the trappings and perks that come with it.
Cambuslang stalwart Stevenson's decision to oppose Jack is founded on his disagreement with the decision to suspend the cups, although he does agree with the president's views on encouraging more regionalised competitions.
Stevenson is likely to attract the support of a number of clubs, particularly smaller ones, who are either passionately against the scrapping of the knock-out tournaments full stop or merely puzzled by the need for an abeyance next season.
While tonight's vote has been crudely characterised as an anti-cup versus pro-cup battle, it can be argued that there is in fact more at stake. The election of Jack for a second term would erode the recommendations for good governance agreed by the Sheriff Dunlop's working party in 2005 – measures which were deemed essential as the union found itself torn apart by civil war and claims and counter claims of self-interest.
No one can doubt Jack's passion for rugby and decades of commitment to the Scottish game. The retired headteacher has won many admirers in the past 12 months for a low-profile term marked by quiet approachability. He has fulfilled his promise to "wear out some shoe leather" with personal visits to dozens of clubhouses in all corners of the country. As a result of this 'I'm listening' touch, he has a very good chance of being re-elected SRU president tonight. Nevertheless, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that Jack has had his turn.
The full article contains 848 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
