Avoiding Responsibility

It goes to show that good things come to good people who wait. For those that don't know, Scottish Rugby has been at its very lowest point for the past few years, both on and off the field. With corruption allegations, dismal performances and a rotating board-room door, there has been very little for the Scots rugby fan to be cheering about.

Things have changed though. Mid-way through last year, the heads of Scots rugby settled into their comfy chairs for the long haul, selected a new coach, and made noises about making positive progress. Well, progress has been made. With a gutsy win against Samoa in the Autumn Tests, the Scotland XV showed that they weren't completely crap. Following up that win with a solid performance against the All Blacks (which they lost, but with pride), things seemed to be on the up and up. Last weekend showed just how far things have come. The French were widely tipped to take the 6 Nations this year with a Grand Slam. That looked slightly less likely when a number of key players were injured before the start of the tournament, but they were still expected to dominate at Murrayfield against a youngish Scots pack. How wrong the pundits were. The Scots played fantastic rugby, having obviously learnt from their experience against the All Blacks. Win at the front, win at the end.

While this is all very interesting, and for me, a quasi-Scots supporter, pretty damn nice, it isn't the reason for me posting on the issue. The interesting thing for me is the observation that as soon as the off-field fighting was sorted out, the same group of players who couldn't string two passes together are now flicking the ball back and forth across the pitch like it was on a string. It highlights the fact that strong leadership by those in charge, and providing active support for the people who do the real work, is what drives success. This is true whether its on the sporting field, in a business, or even running a country. Throwing vast sums of money at a problem won't solve it. Putting in place effective leaders does. There is a lesson here, I hope we all can learn it.