In today's Scotsman, John looks at the foreign influence among Glasgow's Celtic League rivals and the SRU's desire to use the pro teams to prepare players for international duty.
"The Achilles heel of the professional rugby set up in Scotland is that if it is to be used only as a means of preparing Scottish players to play for Scotland then the professional sides won’t be competitive," says John.
"The SRU, especially with cut backs, will never be able to keep every Scottish player in this country, and with our lack of playing numbers we will see some seriously ordinary Scottish players getting contracts. And at the weekends those players will have to take on Welshmen and Irishmen who are being helped by world-class players from overseas. We are not comparing like with like."
You can read John Beattie's article here