The Year In Sport, Part 1: Stuart Hogg adds sparkle to Scottish rugby
● Today we kick off our week-long look at all things sport in 2016. We start with rugby and 12 months of development both on and off the field
While there was plenty of memorable action in the past 12 months, 2016 in Scottish rugby will go down as a year when many of the most significant developments took place off the field.
The boardroom and back offices of BT Murrayfield have been a hive of activity, with coaching changes implemented, player contracts thrashed out and plans to attract investment into the professional teams drawn up.
The headline move came in August when it was announced that Glasgow coach Gregor Townsend would replace Vern Cotter at the end of the season. When the Kiwi, who had taken up the post two summers previously, faced the media a couple of months later it became obvious that there was slightly more pushing than jumping on his part and, while some may feel Cotter deserved more time after presiding over obvious improvement, Townsend’s reputation continues to flourish and a Scot will be back in charge of the national team come June. Cotter will return to France in a lucrative move to Montpellier, taking Nathan Hines as an assistant coach.
The decision set in motion an outbreak of musical chairs as other coaching moves were put in place for when the succession takes place. Attack coach Matt Taylor, who has been in a joint role with Glasgow and Scotland, will be full-time with Townsend at the national team and joined by forwards coach Dan Mcfarland, while backs chief Jason O’halloran and pack boss Jonathan Humphreys go the other way.
There was to be no prolonged speculation on who would take over from Townsend at Scotstoun as it was soon confirmed that Dave Rennie, the highly regarded Waikato Chiefs coach, would be that man in what is seen as quite a coup on the SRU’S part.
Across the M8, there will also be a new head coach after Alan Solomons’ time in charge at Edinburgh came to an end after a poor start to the new Guinness Pro12 season. The South African had steadied a sinking ship when he took over in 2013 and led Edinburgh to a European final in 2015, but poor finishes of eighth, eighth and ninth, and a conservative style which often made for dispiriting viewing, meant the writing was on the wall. It remains to be seen whether interim boss Duncan Hodge will be given the job full-time.
In October, a special general meeting of the SRU approved plans to welcome private investment in the pro teams to offset rising wage inflation. In order to make it an enticing sell, it was necessary to secure star names. None more so than Stuart Hogg, the Six Nations player of the year, and he was signed up on what is believed to be a record £375,000 deal to keep him at Glasgow until May 2019.
The year got under way with Edinburgh retaining the 1872 Cup as Glasgow, defending their Pro12 title, found themselves in a bit of a slump. Having more than a team of players away at the Rugby World Cup the previous autumn had taken its toll and they found themselves in the bottom half of the table, with pitch troubles adding to their woes. Scotstoun was out of action for much of the winter due to waterlogging and the second leg of the the 1872 Cup had to be played at BT Murrayfield where Edinburgh followed up their 20-8 first-leg win with a 14-11 triumph.
January also saw Glasgow bow out of Europe at the pool stage again, despite a rousing 22-5 win over Racing 92 at Rugby Park in a final match which was virtually a dead rubber, with the French side already through and bound for the final. We’d be seeing them again, though. Edinburgh also crashed out of the Challenge Cup when a late collapse in Grenoble saw them pipped by London Irish.
Scotland’s performance at the Rugby World Cup had raised expectations of an improved Six Nations following a depressing whitewash the previous year.
That came to pass, though not before a shocking losing run in the tournament stretched to nine games with losses to eventual Grand Slammers England (15-9) and Wales (2723) in the first two games. The rot was stopped in Rome with a 36-20 win and followed up by a 29-18 home dismantling of France which was the Scots’ best Six Nations perform-
“When the Kiwi [Vern Cotter], who had taken up the post two summers previously, faced the media a couple of months later it became obvious that there was slightly more pushing than jumping on his part”
ance for years, before things finished on a disappointing note with a 35-25 defeat in Dublin, though a sparkling solo try by Hogg cemented his playerof-the -tournament status.
Focus returned to the Pro12 and, while Edinburgh faltered, Townsend coaxed a superb run from his Glasgow team which saw them roar back into the play-off spots.
Ultimately, they fell victim to the Connacht fairytale as the Irish province added their name to 2016’s list of turn-up triumphs. After beating Glasgow in the Galway semifinal, Pat Lam’s men beat Leinster in an entertaining final in front of a record 35,000 crowd at BT Murrayfield. Saracens added the Champions Cup to their English Premiership title, while, in the domestic club game, Heriot’s won the first double in their history as they beat Melrose in the cup final and Ayr in a dramatic Premiership final.
The summer saw Scotland win a couple of drab Tests in Japan, while England recorded a 3-0 whitewash over the Wallabies as they marched to a remarkable 100 per cent year of 13 wins. The Australians were the first visitors in Scotland’s autumn Test series and edged a classic 23-22. It was tough on Cotter’s men, who had played admirably, but they responded with fine wins over Argentina and Georgia to take some confidence into next year’s Six Nations.
Scotland women continue to improve under coach Shade Munro but wins remain elusive and they were disappointed to miss out on World Cup qualification as they lost a play-off to Spain.
The international break has again cost Glasgow, who slipped to three straight Pro12 defeats for the first time under Townsend, while Edinburgh strive for consistency, showing what they can do in wins over Ulster, Harlequins and Stade Francais.
The start of this season was overshadowed by the sad death of Munster coach Anthony Foley at 42. The tragedy inspired the Irish side to a big Euro win over Glasgow in Limerick, but the Scots responded with a famous double over Racing 92 to raise hopes that they can reach the Champions Cup quarter-finals for the first time.