 Andy Irvine said the SRU faced difficult decisions |
Scottish Rugby president Andy Irvine says it considered withdrawing from the professional club game before deciding only to disband Border Reivers. Some Reivers players will have the option of joining Glasgow Warriors, but others are looking outwith Scotland.
"We even looked at the Argentine model, whereby we turn our back on Scottish rugby, saving ourselves about �4m a year," said Irvine.
He said that would have paid off the SRU's �23m debt in five or six years.
"But that probably wouldn't be the answer either because the welfare of our players in England would come secondary to the motives of the big clubs down south," Irvine said about a decision that has sent shockwaves throughout the Scottish game.
"You only have to look at what happened to England captain Phil Vickery.
"He was forced to play for his club between internationals, was taken out and didn't play the rest of the Six Nations season."
Edinburgh are now privately-owned but could have faced a difficult future had the SRU withdrawn support.
Warriors rely completely on SRU funding but will survive next season along with their rivals from the capital.
Reivers will be closed at the end of the season, leaving Scotland with only two representatives in the Magners League and European club competitions.
The decision by Scotland's parent body has been widely criticised by clubs in the Borders area, the one area of the country where rugby is more popular than football.
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