On the flank: £260,000 price of glory is too high for Hayman

WHAT price a World Cup? It's a tricky question but Carl Hayman has answered it. The All Black prop declined Graham Henry's pleas to return home and anchor the New Zealand scrum in next year's World Cup despite the Kiwis' complex on the entire issue. Since the inaugural event, also held in New Zealand, the All Blacks have failed to win the big one and it's fast becoming an albatross around their necks. Hayman is the standout tighthead of his generation but instead of returning

THE long-awaited paper on an integrated schools and clubs cup emerged from Murrayfield at the end of last week. It proposes two options and wants further feedback before putting one of them forward for the board's approval in May. The first option sees a fully integrated schools/clubs competition with the first round reducing the numbers from 32 teams to 16, who would then form four pools of four. The top two teams in each pool would progress to the quarter-finals of the main competition with the bottom two teams going into the bowl. The second option proposes two separate cups competitions that run independently, again using pools to guarantee several competitive fixtures, until the schools and clubs would integrate at the quarter-final stage. The tournament is scheduled to start in September with approximately one round played every month until a final in March.

WHILE we await news of whether Thom Evans will play the game again following his neck injury in Cardiff, a heart-warming tale emerges from Down Under. Last Friday Julian Huxley made his first Super 14 appearance for the Brumbies two years after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. The fullback who has nine Wallaby caps – and hasn't given up on adding to that tally – came off the bench for the Brumbies in their 30-23 win over the Chiefs in the 12th minute of the match and earned himself a standing ovation from the 15,000-strong crowd. Fingers crossed that Evans can make a similar, happy return to the game.

THE Magners League final is scheduled for Saturday, 29 May, the first day of the Murrayfield leg of the IRB Sevens! Should Edinburgh finish top of the table and then qualify for the Magners final, a tall order but not impossible, they get the chance to appoint the venue and they would surely want to play at the national stadium that doubles up as their home ground. That would be difficult with the sevens already using the facility. An SRU spokesman said that discussions were ongoing with Magners Rugby in an effort to sort out the problem but it seems an alternative date would probably be found for the Magners final if needs be.