Allan Massie predicts a tough future for Scottish rugby and suggests the national team could drop out of the top 20 in the world in the next 20 years in the Scotsman
"This brief interval between the World Cup and the Heineken and then the Six Nations is a good moment to take stock.
"The World Cup and the IRB’s Sevens circuit are helping to spread the game.
"This is doubtless a good thing, though not necessarily for everyone. Here in Scotland we already have to run very hard merely to stay where we are. In future we are going to have to run harder not to fall well behind. It’s very likely that we shall not be able to hold on to a top-ten world ranking. We may not fall as far behind as we have in football, but 20 years on we may struggle to be in the top-20 rugby-playing nations. This will certainly be the case if we do not get more state schools playing rugby seriously and if we do not expand and improve the professional game here. Where that is concerned we have wasted 15 years. Time is certainly not on our side."
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