Edinburgh have 'lot more calls to make' & will Glasgow's Smith be backed?

[BBC]

BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering some of your Scottish rugby questions.

Brian asked: Regarding the ongoing coaching problems, why do the SRU/Edinburgh seem to be happy to sit and take all the flak without reply? If a player showed such lack of backbone, they would be gone.

Tom answered: The SRU might argue they're responding by appointing Brad Davis and Tim Sampson to the coaching ticket and signing Riley Higgins for next season. I'd imagine more names will be announced soonish.

Action speaks louder than words. I don't really care what the decision-makers at Edinburgh say, but I do care about what they do.

Their faith in Sean Everitt surprises me, but they've made that call now, however unpopular. They have a lot more calls to make. They need a top-class 10 and strong 15 for starters. And they need to get an awful lot more out of Duhan van der Merwe.

He's not going to be playing many Tests, I'd imagine, so he'd better get used to bringing his best stuff to Edinburgh instead. He's been an expensive luxury item the past two seasons - hampered by injury at times - and he needs a big club season next time around.

Alan asked: As Glasgow battle on while leading the URC table and after some good wins in Europe, the key question is will Franco Smith receive the backing to sign at least three high quality players at number eight, stand-off and centre?

Tom answered: They're losing a lot in the summer - Jack Dempsey, Huw Jones, Adam Hastings, Sione Vailanu, Johnny Matthews and Jamie Bhatti.

They're bringing in Ruwald van der Merwe, the 27-year-old South African back-row, and promoting a raft of talented players from the academy - Macenzzie Duncan, Matthew Urwin, Johnny Ventesei, Fergus Watson, Kerr Yule.

The outgoing players account for some pretty hefty salaries, so Smith needs to be given every latitude to recruit. The emphasis has to be on Scottish-qualified players but there is a little bit of give in that.

They need more at 10, they could do with another hooker, probably need a heavy-hitter in the back-row, too. Smith needs help. He's earned it.