Harley to ride to the rescue for Warriors
STALWART CAN HOLD THE FORT IN FIJIAN’S ABSENCE
With a club record 232 appearances, Rob harley has answered the call for Glasgow Warriors time and again over the years.
it should come as no surprise then that head coach Danny Wilson will turn to the Scotstoun stalwart to help lessen the blow of losing Leone Nakarawa for the first part of the season.
the big Fijian only arrived back in Scotland on Friday after spending the whole of lockdown in the South Sea islands following the birth of his child and the sudden death of a close family member. he is currently selfisolating at home in Glasgow with Wilson resigned to losing him up until mid-December.
Wilson has acknowledged not having him around for the first half-dozen games of the Pro14 is a blow but he believes he has strength in depth to fill the gap until he returns, especially with harley, a player he described a few weeks ago as ‘the glue that allows other players to have X-Factor moments’, on the books.
‘We’ve got five fit second rows,’ said the Glasgow head coach (below). ‘Rob harley, Richie Gray, Kiran MacDonald, Scott Cummings, Rob harley and young hamish Bain. We’ve actually, touch wood, got a full selection there.
‘You would have seen how well Rob harley played in that second game against Edinburgh. he was outstanding, especially when you go back and look over the footage. the nuts and bolts of his game are vital to the way we play.
‘he’s really put his hand up for selection and we need depth in that second row position. We know Scott Cummings, as a minimum, will be going off to Scotland in a couple of weeks but we have some good players still left at the club regardless who goes.’
Wilson revealed he hadn’t been able to have a proper conversation with Nakarawa — who joined Glasgow after having his contract ripped up by Racing 92 for returning late from Fiji after the 2019 World Cup — since he came back to Scotland. he knows training at home for two weeks is no preparation for club or international rugby and he won’t be rushed back. ‘it is definitely a blow, no doubt about that,’ said Wilson, whose team start their Pro14 league campaign with an away trip to Connacht on Saturday evening. ‘timing has not been great on many fronts here. We now have Leone in the country as he arrived back last Friday but he has to go through an isolation period, which, really, if we are being honest, gets him fit and healthy to go into the Fiji camp for the Autumn tests. ‘it is all a bit frustrating and disappointing but at the same time the circumstances are understandable and these things can’t be helped. ‘First and foremost is that we support Leone through a tough period. it is a sad situation and all our thoughts are with him with what he needed to do. ‘he goes into a two week period of selfisolation and won’t be available to train again before we play our second Pro14 game against the Scarlets.
‘then we have a weekend off and no game and then they all go into camp with Fiji, so the timing is not the best.
‘i’m guessing (mid-December) is what it is looking at for him to play for us but you never know what Fiji will say.
‘i would imagine they would want Leone to go straight into their camp when he is fit to play.
‘he self-isolates at home like everybody else and, until the 14-day period is over, we can’t properly have a conversation with him.
‘it is a case of getting him back in daily contact with myself and the strength and conditioning team. he is keen to get back into training and back onto a rugby field.
‘there is no question about that. Fiji and Glasgow are keen for him to do so.’
harley looks certain to figure in Wilson’s starting team against Connacht this weekend but the head coach acknowledges his preparation for the season opener has been far from ideal.
‘We have done two hit-outs within the squad, neither for full game periods, up until now,’ he said. ‘there was a 25-minute and a 40-minute one on Friday as we are not in the situation where we can play pre-season friendlies. We only had a light training session on Monday as our (Covid-19) testing day is today, so we wait for the results from that before we dive into any contact or heavy training.
‘We take the testing and the rules very seriously, indeed. the testing is a constant reminder about the world we’re living in at the moment and the regulations, which we stick rigidly to.
‘it is very different times, as we know, and there are constant reminders from medical staff and coaching staff. We live in a pretty tight bubble in the environment, masks are on pretty much the whole time. You are very careful about what you do off the training field and on the training field you take some risks for that 40-50minute period but you have to.
‘You have to scrummage, you have to line-out and do those contact drills. Otherwise, the boys aren’t prepared for games, so everything has a slight risk attached to it.
‘the way they live their lives outside the training environment is obviously important. We are constantly talking about making good decisions and not putting themselves at risk. it’s difficult, as we know, because you still have to get on with everyday life but you just mitigate it as much as you possibly can.’