Take a bow 'Firework Phil'

What an awful lot of fuss over a few bangers and fireworks!!! I hope by now Julian Parfitt's knickers are untwisted and he can get on with enjoying the Six Nations. I can only assume your aversion to entertainment at international rugby matches was developed while watching the England sides of the 80s and early 90s.

Whether Sir Clive is as hacked off as the media have made out is doubtful. I think his major gripe was the fact that the team was left waiting on the pitch before the Scots ran on. Possibly he hadn't spent enough time on England's 'bagpipe endurance' levels in training. (Before anybody accuses me of an anti-English diatribe, I truly admire Sir CW's level of preparation and attention to detail.).

So, Sir C was upset about a bit of gamesmanship. Shock horror!!! I didn't hear the media complaining about Martin Johnson's refusal to move to the correct end of the red carpet in Dublin last year - in fact, the general reaction was to praise MJ for making some sort of statement about the determination and immovable force that England were to prove that day. The only problem with embarking on these bouts of gamesmanship is that you can end up looking silly if you don't win! (e.g. Scotland keeping England waiting on the pitch at Murrayfield in 2000 worked, on Saturday it didn't. Likewise David Sole's walk onto the pitch in 1990 was also tried in the first Lion's Test in 1989 with less success).

Personally, I'm fairly ambivalent about pre-match entertainment and Julian's argument about entertainment not being the deciding factor for people buying tickets is true for me. I thought the glitter was a little too much and am not a fan of the local primary school kids running around. However, fireworks and pre-match razzmatazz is something that I've seen at international rugby matches all over, including Twickenham (more than once), so I'm not sure why it's suddenly become an issue because Sir Clive has had a whinge?

Where Julian's argument falls down is his assertion that it's all a waste of money (echoed by Matt Dawson in his newspaper column on Tuesday). Since 'Firework Phil' joined the SRU in 2000, just after the debacle of World Cup '99, attendances at Murrayfield (when Scotland were Five Nations champions and might have expected full stands), have steadily increased through a variety of strategies including fireworks, entertainment and innovative ticketing packages. He has not achieved this by just slashing ticket prices, and has done so during Scotland's least successful period of rugby in a long time. I have a feeling that he knows a bit more about it than Julian and Matt.

Apparently, Saturday's international was the most profitable ever in terms of gate receipts, so Julian's mistaken assumption that there is no demand for all the razzmatazz is, well, mistaken.

Maybe there is a lack of understanding on Julian's part of what it takes to get a full house at Murrayfield as opposed to Twickenham.

Both stadiums are in the region of 70,000 capacity.

Scotland has a playing-base of 10,000 as opposed to England's 500,000

Scotland has a population of 5,000,000. London and the South East has a population of more than three times that.

As well as a lack of playing-resources, there's a smaller pool of spectators to fill the stadium. I've lived and played rugby in London for almost 10 years for a large, long-established rugby club. There has never been a sniff of a Twickenham ticket through the club, such is the demand. Add to that the 'corporate hospitality' culture in London which means that tickets for any sporting event are snapped up by city firms at inflated prices. I've been to Twickers about five/six times in 10 years and that has exclusively been through friends who have got hold of spare tickets from work - it's never been through my club. Contrast that to my club in Scotland 12 years ago where I regularly had three/four tickets for every Murrayfield game.

Surely even you, Julian, can see why it's an altogether different proposition to try and fill Murrayfield? I would have thought you would want to applaud Phil Anderton for innovation (while cautioning him not to go too far down the Superbowl route).

I applaud you, 'Firework Phil'. I'm not a fan of the skydivers, but while all in Scottish rugby has been on a downward spiral, you have been a breath of fresh air, and I hope you continue this innovation in your new role as CEO. I fear that getting Scotland back to the top table in World Rugby may require more magic wands than Catherine wheels, but I have every confidence in your ability. If you wind up a few English coaches on the way, well, I suppose that can't be helped.