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May 17, 2005

New direction for Cammy

Posted by Editor on May 17, 2005 10:22 AM | 4 comments | Print | E-mail author

Cammy Mather is ending his career in pro rugby
The Herald's Jim Byers continues his report on the impact of professional rugby on players and today talks to Glasgow's Cammy Mather.

Cammy was on of the first players to make the switch from amateur to full-time rugby, and it came literally, at a price.

"I gave up everything I had to do it," says Cammy, who has called time on his professional career.

"I had a good job and a career working in sports marketing and, when I first became a professional player, I had to take a pay-cut. Not many people make career moves that involve a drop in salary."

After a distinguished career at Edinburgh Reivers, Worcester, Leeds, Glasgow and Scotland Cammy has been linked with a retrurn to coach and play at Watsonians. "I've got a couple of irons in the fire and I'm just waiting for things to progress," is all he will say on that matter. For now, Cammy is actively pursuing some new property development and furniture ventures with a friend

One thing is certain: he won't be going back to his old job in sports marketing because, he says: "Having been a professional player for so long, I think it would be impossible to go back and sit behind a desk all day."

Whatever he chooses to do next, whether it's coaching or business, he will also have to take a pay cut and start at the bottom of the career ladder again

"Playing rugby professionally was just brilliant and I'm just glad I was given the opportunity to do it," he says.

He will miss the game, however. "If I don't go into coaching and go into business, I know I'm going to walk around on Saturday afternoons and think: 'God, something's missing from my life'."

The Herald also looks at the fortunes of Steven Manning, the Ayr and Scotland U21 winger who has been called up to the Glasgow squad a couple of times.

Despite performing well for the U21s this season Steven has been overlooked for the U21s' trip out to the IRB World Championship in Argentina next month. "Getting overlooked has been pretty hard to take," he admits. "I was shocked, but once I'd calmed down, I decided to use it to motivate me to come back a better player."

Steven is doing everything he can to earn a professional deal. As well as employing an agent to search for a deal on his behalf, he also maintains a strict training schedule which finds him in the gym doing weights three times a week, sprint sessions on Wednesdays, squad sessions with Ayr on a Thursday evening, plus matches on a Saturday.

He's also studying to be a PE teacher at Edinburgh University. He has two years left to complete, but even though he is still playing part-time rugby, he is beginning to realise the difficulty in maintaining his educational studies with his sporting ambitions.

"I'm not sure if I got offered a deal right now that I would risk leaving university," says Steven. "I could break my leg and that would be me done. It also depends on money. If you get offered five grand a year (the average wage for an apprentice player) to leave university, it's not really worth it, is it?

"I do want to get a deal," he adds, "but rugby is not the be all and end all. "You have to have a fall-back if it goes wrong."

Comments
Posted by Highlandbrave75 on May 17, 2005 07:40 PM | Reply to this comment

An average of £5,000 a year for an apprentice contract. The apprentice contracts scheme is appaling.

Nevermind taking care of the young up and coming Scottish talent, nurturing their skills and helping them through to better things...

there's always an Argentinian, a South African, a New Zealander out there somewhere to bring in costing alot more than £5,000.

And John Beattie bleats about foreign influence in club rugby?!

Posted by McDruid on May 17, 2005 08:56 PM | Reply to this comment

yet again I agree with you on this subject, HB, but what can we do about it? I don't see the SRU brigade addressing the subject, no matter who is in power.

Posted by Alan on May 17, 2005 09:44 PM | Reply to this comment

On the other hand, I know a graduate who now has £20,000 debts for the effort. not an easy choice either way..but to get back to Cammy.. good luck to him and thanks for the Glasgow performances.. I remember one away game in particular when a home supporter asked who "that blonde guy" was ..I took great pride in telling him "that's Cammy Mather".. thanks.

Posted by Highlandbrave75 on May 18, 2005 12:19 AM | Reply to this comment

If we can't address a scheme where we get the best out of our young up and coming pro players and reward those players with more than a paltry chimney sweep's wages what future does Scottish Rugby hold within the world of professional rugby?

Perhaps the changing tide can begin to roll in when we see the young Scottish bred player given better benefits to encourage him to stay within a career of pro rugby and have a future Scottish International setup rather than bring in a steady flow of Argentinians, South African, New Zealanders that we're seeing every day arriving in the Scottish pro setup.

Don't you find it frustrating when the SRU/Pro media machine can announce press releases galore for incoming Argentinian, New Zealand players to Scottish Rugby yet can't produce any official press releases on announcing the young Scottish bred players being released and making way for those incoming foreign players?

How much cash is the SRU paying these guys to head to Scotland? I can assure you it's alot more than the paltry £3,000-£5,000 we see presently "awarded" to a young future Scottish International cap!

Come on Mr Beattie, Mr Morrison...Where's your spreadsheet column inches asking for answers on these matters in the Scottish game?

Ahhh....But it's s much easier to blame those club sides and their merry band of "mercenaries" for the mess we're in though isn't it!?

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