New- look Glasgow set for reshuffle to face French
Coach promises players who shone against Bath will get their chance
PETE MURCHIE has revealed that the new- look Glasgow Warriors side which secured a surprise away win over Bath last Saturday in the opening round of the European Challenge Cup is set for another shake- up ahead of Friday’s home match against Perpignan.
But the Scotstoun side’s assistant coach has promised that those players who seized their opportunity when given a rare start ahead of some of the seasoned internationalists in the squad will get their reward in due course.
“If you include the academy players, we’ve got a squad of 50 plus so it’s about managing how many games you give guys in a row so they can get into a flow and a feel of the game, while keeping everyone fresh. It’s a balancing act,” Murchie said.
“So, we’ll make changes again, but the expectancy levels have raised around the guys that are coming in because of what the boys who played at the weekend did. If they did play well at the weekend and don’t play again then they still have credit in the bank from what they’ve shown. You’re more willing to give someone another shot when they’ve done well in a pressure situation.”
Murchie singled out debutants
Jack Mann ( although he isn’t available this weekend due to concussion) and Angus Fraser for particular praise.
“Jack’s efforts in Super6 [ playing for Heriot’s] merited us having a look and he was really keen to come in with us, then after the first week we were keen to keep him,” he said. “He’s been training full time for the last few months and done really well, he played in the ‘ A’ game [ versus Edinburgh last month] and he was excellent against Bath. His carrying, his defensive work, his clean- out work – all very, very dynamic.
“Angus signed a pro contract with
us for the start of this season and tore up trees in the ‘ A’ game, so neither of those guys were given opportunities for the sake of it. It was because they earned it and because we want to grow the depth.
“It’s great to see those boys make an impact, and guys like Cam Neild [ the third debutant on Saturday] coming in too. That’s what you need. Guys pushing each other, three or four in each position. That’s what creates healthy competition and training standards.”
Warriors have had a habit in recent seasons of failing to back up positive results, and Murchie stressed that both the coaching staff and playing squad are committed to tackling this inconsistency.
Perpignan lost at home to Bristol Bears last weekend and are expected to prioritise their ongoing battle to escape the Top 14’ s relegation zone when it comes to team selection for Friday night’s match.
“We’ve not been high- fiving each other as if we’ve won the World Cup,” said the former Warriors and Scotland full- back. “We were really pleased with the performance levels, why we played well and what it means for us as a group, but you have to be hard on each other at the same time.
“As soon as you think ‘ two away wins in a row, we’ve got this cracked’ then you’re done. You have to push on. Every good team will always look to inch forward and there’s so much we can move forward from the weekend, whether it’s looking at how we stop the tries we conceded or the two or three gilt- edged chances that we missed. It’s always push, push, push, push, push. If you’re not pushing forward, you’re going backwards.
“We don’t know what team Perpignan will bring. They’re towards the lower end of the Top 14 and we’ve watched a fair amount of their footage. The thing about the Top 14 is they change the team all the time. Home and away, it’s constantly changing. I watched their game against Racing and they were beating them at half time, and it was only when Finn [ Russell] came on that the game swung away from Perpignan. So, they’ve got threats and we know we can’t take them lightly.”
Another thing not being taken lightly is the weather. Scottish Rugby and Glasgow Warriors ground staff are working flat out to ensure the artificial surface at Scotstoun is playable despite the arctic conditions across Scotland all this week.
Meanwhile, Zander Fagerson has been ruled out for “the foreseeable”.
The 26- year- old suffered a hamstring injury while playing for Glasgow in their URC victory away to Zebre and the club have now revealed that after undergoing a scan he is “expected to be out of action for the foreseeable, pending ongoing assessment”.
The news will come as a concern to Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, with the Six Nations kicking off in just over a monthanda- half with a Calcutta Cup showdown away to England.
It’s always push, push, push, push. If you’re not pushing forward, you’re going backwards