The Return of The Prodigal?

 

The situation at Worcester Warriors is grim. Players and staff may lose their livelihood and for  some of the aspiring youngsters at the club this may mean the end of their dreams. The caretaker has been turfed out of his on site home. Grim. There is no better way to describe it.

 As this situation has unfolded rumour has abounded about what will happen to the Scottish players at Worcester. Mainly this has focussed on Duhan and to a slightly lesser extent, Suzz and occasionally someone remembers that Murray McCallum falls into this category.

The rumour mill suggested initially that Duhan may be heading to France and amongst other destinations suggested, Racing 92 were at the top of the list. For Rory Sutherland Bath were quoted along with Lyon and Cardiff. I may even have seen Leinster mentioned in connection with Sutherland but don’t quote me on that.

Unfortunately that rumour mill is pretty quiet on the McCallum front.

Of course very soon after the news of Worcester’s troubles hit Mike Blair was asked about whether there was any prospect of any of the trio ending up back at Edinburgh. He was pretty cagey in his response as you would expect but ultimately didn't rule that scenario out. 

That was back at the end of August. As of today Worcester Warriors are now in administration and suspended from all competitions. To be clear though due to the set up of the club it is only the legal entity of the club (WRFC Trading Ltd)  that is in administration and the company that pays the players wages (WRC Player Ltd) is not. 

This last part is key at the present moment and puts the brakes on all movement by players contracted by the club. My understanding however is that if wages are not forthcoming at the end of September then the players will be free to leave after 14 days have elapsed.

Whilst this has all been developing so has the speculation. It has now been widely reported that Duhan van Der Merwe is thought to have either agreed a return to Edinburgh  or even that it is a done deal.

The reports around Sutherland seem to suggest he is more likely to end up at Glasgow.

Of McCallum there is no strong indication either way.

Let’s concentrate on Duhan in the first instance because he is the one that gets everyone's pulse racing. If he moves back to Edinburgh it will be on the SRU dime. That’s not to say that Mike Blair will be unhappy at having a player with his try scoring ability available to him but it comes with complications.

1. The SRU will dictate that he plays enough games to keep him ready for international rugby

2. Someone will lose a place in the team to allow for that

3. Does 1 and 2 leave some in the team disgruntled because they or their mate has been sidelined?

Of course there are plenty of opportunities for those that might have to make way for Duhan with Autumn internationals, 6N and WC’s on the way but it may still rankle. Let’s be clear though. If this comes to pass it is for the benefit of the national side and that alone.

So assuming Duhan is dropped back into an Edinburgh XV who gets the bullet to make way for him? I reckon with Duhan on the left wing we are looking at a back 3 of Graham, Boffelli, Duhan. So right away Immelman, Hoyland and (a fit) Goosen will be some of the casualties. 

Duhan is like the Ally McCoist of rugby. He really only does one thing but he does that thing so well it would be hard not to include him. So regardless of the potential issues his ability trumps them.

Sutherland on the other hand, whilst an excellent scrummager, is injury prone and nowhere near as useful in the loose as Schoeman. Whether he’s actually better than Venter I know will divide opinion but with the already mentioned caveat that it's probably above Mike Blair’s pay grade I'm not sure we need him.

McCallum is a different kettle of fish. He is a rarity in this day and age that he can play both sides of the scrum. To have that ability in our pocket off the bench in particular may be useful but I still can't help feeling he’d spend most of his time on Super 6 duty.

I sincerely hope that Worcester can rise again because it’s heartbreaking to see what the fallout has meant for everyone there including the supporters. In a way it makes the fact that Edinburgh are owned by the SRU feel like a good thing.