Scottish Rugby Faced Financial Ruin

 It has been revealed that Scottish Rugby was close to financial meltdown,
with debts of £23 million prompting an independent investigation into its
affairs.

Gordon McKie, the chief executive of the SRU, told The
Times that ‘Operation Shark’ was launched in August 2005 to rescue the
situation, which is now on a more stable footing.

A key element in the
investigation was to ascertain the ownership of Edinburgh’s part of European
Rugby Cup, the organisation that runs the Heineken Cup and the European
Challenge Cup.

The Scottish Union was being paid £2.1 million from ERC and
another £600,000 from the Magners League for entering three teams in their
competitions. Edinburgh’s cut was £525,000, which prompted a dispute between the
club owners and the Union.