Let’s not beat around the bush Scottish rugby has been a bit of a laughing stock in recent years.
It seems that pretty much every February and March the Six Nations have to be endured rather than enjoyed.
This year was as bad as it gets, what with the record defeats to England and Wales.
And our professional club teams haven’t exactly done much to raise Scottish rugby’s stock.
There was a Heineken Cup semi-final for Edinburgh and Glasgow have made the RaboDirect semi-finals, but nobody remembers losing semi-finalists.
It definitely feels that the game has got a chance to change its perception.
First up there’s the £20 million invested into Scottish rugby by BT.
You’ll struggle to find anyone who thinks the SRU haven’t done a great deal here, and if the money is invested in the right areas it could be crucial to the sport’s development.
But just as important as getting grassroots investment is getting success at the sharp end.
And that’s where Glasgow Warriors come in.
If they beat Leinster on Saturday in the Rabo final it will probably be the biggest result for a Scottish team since the game went professional.
It can be the result that earns the respect of other rugby nations. That’s the only way you can get that by winning.
The fact that the match is Brian O’Driscoll’s last ever only adds to its profile.
If Glasgow win everybody will know about it, and there will be a spin-off in terms of confidence for them.
It will be the same for Edinburgh they’ll think ‘if Glasgow can do it, why can’t we’.
And, in turn, the players will take that into the national squad.
The Warriors players got a curling lesson off us a few months ago and you could tell from that how competitive they were!
I know Chris Cusiter, and he’ll be wanting to make sure his last match for Glasgow is a momentous one.
Like St Johnstone a couple of weeks ago, Glasgow have got the chance to make history, and I think they’ll do it.
* It was only a few weeks ago I was writing about a female football manager in the man’s game.
And now there’s speculation that Andy Murray is considering a woman Amelie Mauresmo – as his next coach.
The more you think about it, the more it doesn’t sound too far-fetched.
I was a bit sceptical about Helena Costa’s chances of success in French football, but Murray and Mauresmo would have a much better chance.
It’s not such a big leap from coaching a female player to a male player in tennis as it is from a women’s football team to a men’s one.
Plus, he’s been used to having a woman coach him from when he was a wee boy his mum.
And if Murray does hire Mauresmo you’ll know she is the right person for the job. He will want the best, and helping advance the cause of women in sport won’t come into it.
* I’d like to congratulate my friend Kelsey MacDonald on qualifying for the US Open. It’s a huge opportunity for her.
We caught up a few days ago and she’s really excited about it, as you would expect.
And she knows where I am if she needs a caddy for the week!