REGULAR readers better be prepared for a shock because this week The Rucker is going to be nice about the Scottish Rugby Union and the British Broadcasting Corporation.

They are not usually on my Christmas card list but I have to give credit where credit is due.

The news announced yesterday that the BBC is going to broadcast live all three of Scotland’s Autumn Tests is extremely pleasing.

It had long been rumoured but at least it is now confirmed that the visit of Samoa on 11 November and the concluding game against Australia on 25 November will be broadcast throughout the UK on BBC One, with Scotland’s 18 November meeting with the All Blacks on BBC Two.

It’s not just because the Rucker is one of those people who think that terrestrial television should always take precedence over satellite that I am pleased.

Rather it is because of these days when so little live sport is shown on terrestrial television that the deal gives our sport a fantastic opportunity to show how good an entertainment top-class rugby can be.

Don’t get me wrong, Sky and BT Sport – the latter will also show the matches in an intriguing simultaneous match-up of pundits – have brought a lot of money into the game and in the professional era money really counts.

But with the matches against Samoa, Australia and New Zealand being shown on a terrestrial channel, Scottish rugby has a terrific chance to sell itself in particular to young people and families who for whatever reason do not have satellite or cable television.

Make no mistake, the BBC will bring a much bigger audience than could have been expected on a satellite channel and I am sure the SRU is even now looking to maximise this opportunity to show the progress of Scottish rugby, not least because we have a national team playing an exciting brand of rugby under new head coach Gregor Townsend.

As someone who was brought up listening to the BBC’s Voice of Rugby Bill McLaren, I have always appreciated that the BBC does its best to promote rugby union, though there have been a few pundits over the years who have let the side down by talking too much and not thinking enough.

This time, we should not be worrying about who’s doing the talking off the field but we should be hoping that Scotland will do their talking on the pitch.

There will be guaranteed full houses for the visits of the Wallabies and the All Blacks, and we are already heading for the biggest ever sale of tickets for a match against a tier two nation in Samoa who are much better than their current ranking of 16th in the world.

The BBC coverage is the icing on the cake so let’s take the opportunity to market our sport as the exciting show it has become under Vern Cotter and Townsend.

For once, it is a ‘well done’ all round to those who have been involved in making it happen.