Sometimes people don’t know what is at the end of their noses. As the SRU re-start their search for a new chief executive they have someone on their books who can fill that role straight away.

That man is former Scotland captain Al Kellock who is managing director of his former club Glasgow Warriors and is already in the frame to be the new SRU Director of Performance. That job would make him the top man on the playing side of Scottish Rugby. Why not go a stage further and make him in charge of the whole Murrayfield set up?

At the eleventh hour Northampton Saints chief executive Mark Darbon turned down the chance to take over from Mark Dodson as the chief executive at the SRU telling them he had received a better offer. That offer came from the R and A with the low handicap golfer being announced as their new chief executive. He will also serve as secretary of the 270-year-old Royal and Ancient Golf Club.

Scottish Rugby Limited chairman John McGuigan was left red faced and frustrated when Darbon, 45, pulled out. He could do a lot worse than turn his attentions to 43-year-old Kellock whose star has risen over the last few weeks following Glasgow Warriors United Rugby Championship league win.

Kellock has spoken well since Glasgow beat the Bulls in Pretoria in what was the greatest result in the history of Scottish club rugby. Off the field he runs a tight ship and keeps to budgets at Scotstoun. That is something the new chief executive will have to be good at because the SRU currently have a deficit of more than £10m.

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Scotland Rugby News revealed that he had made the shortlist for the job of Performance Director but no decision has been made on that appointment because it had to be approved by the new chief executive. In the interim the SRU failed to get Darbon and that can open the door for them to approach Kellock for the top job.

Darbon worked wonders at Northampton Saints with the cherry on the cake for him being the club winning the English Premiership title after a play-off final win over Finn Russell’s Bath. He has made his name in English club rugby but is he any better than Kellock who has made his name in Scottish club rugby and whose Glasgow Warriors team won their league after a play-off final? There are similarities and bringing success in English and Scottish club rugby should be treated equally. If Darbon was good enough to be SRU chief executive why not Kellock?

Having a Scot with immense standing in the game both on and off the field as chief executive would be a master stroke. That he is already on the payroll and knows the problems within Scottish Rugby is a bonus.

The governing body has already set in motion attempts to save money and last week their staff was warned to expect redundancies. It has been suggested that they are looking to make a one-off saving of around £2m and that could lead to between thirty and forty job losses among the 480 or so staff at Murrayfield. The playing budget of Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors could also be hit in the future but not just now.

It won’t be a good look to bring in someone from outside the SRU, pay him or her around £350,000, against a background of job cuts. Why not move Kellock from Glasgow to take over as chief executive of the SRU? He has the credentials to do the job and will get some goodwill from the public which is something previous incumbent Mark Dodson did not have.

If he doesn’t get that job then making him Performance Director and give him responsibility for the playing side of the game. That will at least keep one of the rising stars of Scottish Rugby on the admin side north of the border.