Glasgow are gunning for glory
“We’ve been buzzing since Dave arrived”
AND so it begins... on the couch. Today marks Dave Rennie’s first competitive match in charge of Glasgow Warriors. It is also, of course, the opening weekend of the revamped and expanded Pro14. A brave new world, indeed.
For Stuart Hogg, however, it all begins without him.
The Warriors’ first-choice full-back remains on the road to recovery and has only just returned to training at Scotstoun for the first time this week following a shoulder operation.
While he must wait to start his own season, Hogg will be watching tonight’s opener against Connacht from home, cheering on his team-mates — and believing this is merely the first step on the road to glory.
‘Dave Rennie has come in and there are new faces in the backroom staff, as well as on the playing staff, and the place has been buzzing,’ said Hogg as he opened a Save The Children shop in Peebles yesterday.
‘It was disappointing not making the play-offs last season, but we must aim for that this year and also the title.
‘Dave wants us to win it and we believe we can do that.
‘On a personal level, it is frustrating for me to miss the start of the season, but I will be watching the boys knowing they can win their opening match.’
Hogg is also wishing nothing but the best for the man who has, at least in the short-term, taken his No15 jersey.
Ruaridh Jackson returned to Scotstoun this summer for a second stint at the club and the 29-year-old faces a tough reintroduction at The Sportsground in Galway. Hogg has no doubt he will rise to the occasion.
‘It is frustrating for me to miss the start of the season, but Jacko is a top player who will do a great job against Connacht,’ said the Scotland star, who was a team-mate of Jackson for three years before the specialist fly-half moved south to Wasps and then Harlequins.
‘He is a great player who has played in big matches for Glasgow and Scotland in the past and he will go well in Galway.
‘It is always a tough place to play rugby but Jacko will rise to the occasion and his experience will be vital for us. He can play in a number of positions and he has played at full-back before in his career. He’ll do really well.’
Rennie had been in two minds over who to play at full-back with Hogg out until mid-October. Wingers Tommy Seymour or Rory Hughes could have been utilised, or fly-halves Adam Hastings or Niko Matawalu, who signed earlier this week, could also have been moved back.
In the end, Rennie chose to put his faith in Jackson, a decision his assistant Jonathan Humphreys says was made in the wake of his display against the Dragons pre-season.
‘We were all really impressed with Jacko against the Dragons in pre-season when he put in a really good performance,’ said Humphreys. ‘It’s great to have him back as he’s played over 100 times for the club.
‘He’s been away for a couple of years and it’s great to see him back and being as positive as he is.’
Jackson is part of an under-strength Glasgow Warriors side that is also missing the likes of second row Jonny Gray, who has a wrist injury, and Rob Harley, who has a leg knock.
Seymour, who was part of the British and Irish Lions squad over the summer, has missed out, as has new signing Huw Jones from the Stormers.
Humphreys is still confident his team can come away from Galway with a win over a Connacht team coached by Kieran Keane — who was Rennie’s backs coach at the Waikato Chiefs.
‘We’re really excited to play our first fixture as it seems we have been in a long time for pre-season,’ said Humphreys.
‘It’s freshened things up with Dave coming in and the whole environment is positive at the moment. We think they’re (Connacht) not going to be as adventurous as they were in the past, a bit more pragmatic in what will be a tough match.’
Glasgow hammered Connacht in the opening league fixture in Galway last season 41-5, but their new coach Keane knows Rennie’s tactics so well that it won’t be a one-way street this time round.
‘It’s ironic that we face Dave’s Glasgow in my first game in charge,’ said Keane, who worked with him for the whole of last season. ‘He (Rennie) will play an open and expansive game and we will be very similar.
‘We’ve not had a lot of footage of Glasgow, but what we do have, we have combed over, and they are quite similar. So it’s going to be a toughie.
‘We want to challenge the opposition as they will want to do to us, so there will be a stalemate I suspect. How we handle that will be really important to us, and moving forward into the game, what we choose to do, decision making, will be important.’
CONNACHT: Leader; Kelleher, Griffin, Aki, Healy; Carty, Marmion; Buckley, McCartney, Bealham, Dillane, Cannon, Masterson, Butler, Muldoon.
GLASGOW WARRIORS: Jackson; Masaga, Dunbar, Johnson, Jones; Horne, Price; Bhati, Turner, Fagerson, Swinson, Cummings, Wilson, Smith, Ashe. Kick-off: 7.35pm The Sportsground, Galway. TV: LIVE BBC Alba.