Bob Carruthers for president of the Scottish Rugby Union. The campaign should start tonight as those who respond to the call to rally behind the Border Reivers gather at Edinburgh's Caledonian Hotel.

A year ago, few in Scottish rugby knew that Alex Carruthers, the former Caledonia Reds centre, had a wealthy big brother. Now the man who provided the bulk of the money that saw Murrayfield Sport & Leisure Ltd (MSL) take ownership of Edinburgh's professional rugby team, seems to have all the answers for the sport's woes.

When I suggested to Bob this week that he stand to replace Andy Irvine - his term as president ends this summer - the immediate response was that he lacked the necessary credibility within the sport.

Yet by dint of his status as the man who has put his money where his mouth is, Carruthers alone has offered credibility to what would otherwise have been a meaningless campaign to save the Reivers, fuelled only by emotional punditry and dubious promises.

In terms of what he might offer consider the following: nThe SRU's decision to close the costly, unloved Reivers contrasts starkly with what Irvine envisaged last year when he said he believed Scottish rugby must aspire to four professional teams. The current president maintains he would still want that to happen in an ideal world; unlikely as it seems, Carruthers believes the Reivers can be saved and Caledonia Reds reintroduced next year without costing the SRU a penny.

nIrvine, probably the most popular and respected figure in the sport, was persuaded to stand for the presidency to lead the SRU into a new era of proper governance under a structure sanctioned by leading agencies as an excellent replacement for the discredited committee system. Carruthers believes that two-year-old system of governance is fundamentally flawed, failing to provide necessary checks and balances that the organisation needs.

nAfter years of condemnation of the SRU from all directions regarding escalating debt, the current regime seems to have stabilised the profit and loss account. Furthermore the long-awaited approval of a flood prevention plan has allowed the prospect of eating into the debt by building on SRU-owned land around Murrayfield ice rink, with Irvine stressing that this would not involve building on the national stadium's back pitches.

Carruthers, who puts the improved trading down to the £1.5m his consortium has contributed, defies conventional thinking. He reckons the scale of the debt is not a major problem such are the assets, that there should be no rush to deal with it, but that when development does take place a sub-national stadium should be built. That would, of course, involve building on at least part of the back pitches.

What is striking is that an individual who was essentially unknown in the game has, in less than a year, so swiftly identified apparent solutions to the biggest problems that those engaged in the sport's administration have struggled with for a decade and more.

Whether his sums add up remains to be seen, though. Much of what he proposes in terms of budgets available to the Reivers and, thereafter, the Reds, assumes revenues from cross-border competitions are directly linked to the number of teams participating. Only the SRU knows the details of the European and Celtic accords, but those assumptions are very questionable.

As for governance, there was widespread satisfaction, inside and outside the sport, with the overhaul that took place in 2005. Whether people want to revisit that because of unhappiness over a couple of contentious issues - the scale of them is far from tested since, as ever, voices of dissent have been amplified while the majority stay mute - must be highly debatable.

Carruthers has expressed suspicion that the SRU may be happy that the fuss over the Reivers is distracting from the bigger issue of those aforementioned development plans. Yet some are suggesting it is MSL that is capitalising on this row, as its members seek to extricate themselves from commitments to Edinburgh Rugby because they have so far been unable to attract the sort of star names they expected would line up to play concerts at the stadium.

Such cynicism is fuelled by the exodus of leading players from Edinburgh with little, so far, by way of major replacements. Two All Blacks, Aaron Mauger and Luke McAlister, have been mentioned as potential targets, yet the impression so far is that the squad is being weakened rather than strengthened and Edinburgh supporters will doubtless feel Carruthers' focus should be on improving their side.

Relations between the SRU and MSL have also been strained but it would be appalling to think there could be any substance to such conspiracy theories, particularly if Carruthers really knows how to deal with what previously looked intractable problems.

If he has got it right surely there could be no finer president. Vote Bob and all Scottish Rugby's problems could be solved.