Dodson Warns Of Squeeze On Revenues As Rugby Enters Olympics

Scottish Rugby Union CEO Mark Dodson has "warned of tougher times ahead" for Scottish Rugby once Sevens is introduced into the Olympics in '16, according to Bill Lothian of the SCOTSMAN. One of the consequences of the Rio '16 Games featuring rugby will be to provide extra funding for emerging nations such as China, Russia, Georgia and the U.S. with a "likely knock-on effect into the 15-a-side code." In the latest edition of Running Rugby Magazine, Dodson talked about the danger of traditional power being squeezed. He said, "No matter how well we do, and we are all improving, we have to work twice as hard modernizing things. We must keep improving or we will be overtaken." He also added that the key to development was increasing Scottish playing numbers. Dodson: "We want to increase our participation from 43,000 to 63,000, and I believe that is achievable" (SCOTSMAN, 8/8).