HOGG SETS SIGHTS ON SARACENS
Warriors star on course for Champions Cup return
STUART HOGG is in line to hand Glasgow Warriors a huge boost by making his return from injury in next weekend’s Heineken Champions Cup showdown with Saracens.
The talismanic full-back has been out of action since damaging his shoulder in Scotland’s Six Nations defeat to Ireland on February 9.
He subsequently missed the rest of the championship, but has been back in training with the Warriors this week.
Although he is unlikely to feature in Saturday night’s Pro14 game against the Cheetahs at Scotstoun, the quarter-final clash with Sarries seven days later is now a realistic target.
Glasgow assistant coach Kenny Murray has revealed the club are quietly optimistic Hogg will be available, although Huw Jones isn’t quite ready to return from a knee injury just yet.
‘Hoggy has been back in training this week,’ said Murray. ‘He hasn’t done a lot of contact, so he will build up his contact this week, coming into next week.
‘He’s not likely to be available for the Cheetahs game, but we’re definitely not ruling him out of the Saracens game.
‘We’ll just see how he progresses towards the end of the week and in contact next week.
‘He is his usual self, buzzing and ready to go. In terms of his movement, he is fine but we need to make sure that, contact-wise, he is ready to go.
‘He’s full of confidence that he’ll be ready to go in the next ten days or so. You know what he’s like. He wants to play rugby but we don’t want to take risks with him or anybody.
‘He is an important player for us but Jacko (Ruaridh Jackson) has done really well in his absence.
‘We have taken 19 out of 20 points recently and Jacko has played in pretty much every part of those games.
‘He is a real quality stand-in for us, but Hoggy being the world-class player he is, you would want him back as soon as possible. ‘Huw Jones is probably going to be another few weeks. He’s not back running yet, so I would say it is likely to be more around the Ulster (April 5) and Leinster (April 13) time that he’ll be available. ‘Callum Gibbins is training fully, doing the full contact, full running, so he is in contention for this weekend against the Cheetahs.’ Murray also revealed that Ryan Wilson could yet play a part before the end of the season, with his recovery from a knee injury progressing well. The focus over the next week, though, will inevitably be on Hogg. Unless there are any late hiccups, his return could be the spark Glasgow need at Allianz Park. Dave Rennie’s men lost home and away to Sarries in the pool stage, but Murray insists the Warriors are wellplaced to cause an upset against the two-time champions this time around. ‘We believe we can go down there and win,’ he continued. ‘When we played them down there before, we probably did not have as strong a team as we had hoped. ‘We expect to go down there this time with a strong team and give a good account of ourselves.
‘When you play teams like Saracens, you have to play to your absolute potential with the best players you have available to give yourselves a chance to win the game.’
Glasgow sit at the top of Conference A heading into the game against the Cheetahs, although Murray is wary of a side known for their attacking flair.
He also believes the Warriors might have to win all four of their remaining games to secure top spot and a home semi-final.
‘Although we have done quite a lot of preparation behind the scenes, we have not spoken to the players too much about Saracens,’ said Murray.
‘We don’t want to take the focus off the Cheetahs.
‘They have scored more tries from their own half than any other team and more tries from turnovers than any other team.
‘We said before we probably need to win every game to guarantee we will finish top.
‘My mindset is that I don’t see Munster losing any games.
‘One of the things we did over the Six Nations was set up a mini league table for the group of guys who were here during that window to give them a bit of focus for how many games we were going to play.
‘We finished top of that mini league with 19 points from 20. That could be the defining moment in our season.’