Rugby Union: pounds 25,000 contracts for Scottish players

The Scottish Rugby Union will go into the red after working out contracts worth up to pounds 25,000 to cover the 1996 Five Nations' Championship and the recent game against Western Samoa.

With separate contracts for A internationals, more than 40 players will be offered terms and SRU officials estimate they will pay out at least pounds 500,000.

Fred McLeod, the senior vice-president, said: "In the short term the money is not available. We are not in dire financial straits but for the first time the SRU will go into a loss situation."

But the union coffers will be boosted by Scottish involvement in the forthcoming European competition. "We will be looking at a variety of commercial opportunities to raise the necessary money and, in two years' time, we expect a healthy surplus,'' McLeod added.

Full squad members, who have been asked to sign the contracts by Saturday, will gain a retainer of pounds 5,000 and four Five Nations' payments of pounds 3,000.

Depending on success, there will also be up to pounds 5,000 per player available in bonus payments, while those involved in the Western Samoa match will receive a retrospective fee of pounds 2,500.

SCOTTISH PLAYERS OFFERED CONTRACTS: G Armstrong (Jed-Forest), P Burnell (London Scottish), S Campbell (Dundee High School FP), C Chalmers (Melrose), D Cronin (Bourges), M Dods (Northampton), J Hay (Hawick), S Hastings (Watsonians), D Hilton (Bath), I Jardine (Stirling County), C Joiner (Melrose), K Logan (Stirling County), K McKenzie (Stirling County), E Peters (Bath), B Redpath (Melrose), S Reid (Boroughmuir), R Shepherd (Melrose), G Shiel (Melrose), I Smith (Gloucester), G Townsend (Northampton), R Wainwright (West Hartlepool), D Weir (Melrose), P Wright (Boroughmuir).