EDINBURGH ACCIES coach Ian Barnes has criticised Scottish Rugby bosses' plans to increasingly remove up-and-coming stars from the club premiership to play in development teams next season.
The 61-year-old former internationalist second row has prefaced what he insists will be his last season in coaching by revealing that, in addition to entering an academy team in the new British and Irish clubs' Cup – featuring champions Ayr and runn
ers-up Heriot's – the SRU is planning seven back-up games for its two professional teams.
These back-up games – all friendlies – will take place against other professional outfits and will be used partly to assess youngsters' potential.
When age group internationals are taken into account, there will be more and more occasions when some of the game's brightest young stars are unavailable for their Scottish Hydro premiership clubs.
Barnes says: "Since the game went professional in 1996 the clubs got shafted. There's been difficulties between clubs and the SRU and we were not happy with the way it went."
That was a reference to the creation of centrally-run teams to drive the game forcing some traditional clubs to limit their ambitions.
Barnes, the Premiership Division One representative on the council which oversees the work of the professional Board at Murrayfield, added: "There is an acceptance now that we (clubs) have to work with the SRU and we are genuinely trying to do that.
"We are now trying very hard to build bridges. I hope that attitude is being reciprocated by the SRU. But I would have to say I am very, very disappointed that, as well as the British and Irish Cup, they are planning to have seven back-up games.
"This kills us stone dead because you have the five B&I Cup games, seven back-up games and age-group internationals.
"We knock our pan in bringing the young boys through and we are never going to see them. Nobody will ever convince me the players do not learn more at the pit face than they do sitting in an office."
Barnes was speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's weekend rugby show which also heard Edinburgh Rugby captain and flanker Simon Cross defend a system which allows the governing body to encourage promising players to move to other clubs.
Speaking as co-coach of Murrayfield Wanderers, who have just seen a couple of under-19 internationalists jump several divisions to play at Stewart's Melville with no transfer fees applicable, Cross said: "The SRU have said if they want to have the best chance of playing (Scotland) under-20s they (the under-19 caps) need to play Premier Division One rugby. Is it so different from Edinburgh and Glasgow losing players to Scotland?
"Someone is always losing out and someone is always gaining. Provided we understand where we are in the pecking order, I am comfortable with that. As a coach, if I can push someone through and see them getting under-19 or under-20 caps I take a lot of gratitude from that."
Cross also revealed that he no longer expects to cover the open-side flanker role in which he once reached the Scotland bench.
He said: "It seems I am not viewed as a No.7 any more. That's probably not a bad thing. As you get older you get a bit slower.
"Roddy Grant, Alan MacDonald and Ross Rennie are three open sides any team would be lucky to have.
"Scott Newlands had a fantastic first year being involved in every squad for every game. Ally Hogg and Dave Callam will be the No.8s. I'll be competing with them."
