The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Horne back to his roots after World Cup experience
RUGBY: Glasgow star raring to go after home visit following World Cup in Japan
Needing a recharge after the Rugby World Cup in Japan, George Horne went back to his roots.
The young scrum-half had a good World Cup, scoring his hat-trick against the USA and seeing game-time as a replacement in two other games, but he still felt a little restless during the statutory down time after coming home.
“I was off last week but I did a wee bit of training on my own,” he said. “We were given bits and pieces to keep us ticking so over, so I went down to the Howe of Fife to do that and it was good to go there and see everyone.
“They are going pretty well, they beat Perthshire at the weekend and that’s seven wins in a row now.”
The excitement of National League Three doesn’t nearly make up for lost time and the feeling he has a big season ahead with Glasgow, starting with the Kings at Scotstoun tomorrow night.
“I can’t wait to get back into it to be honest,” he said. “The World Cup was brilliant and it was good to get the gametime that I did, but I’m delighted to be back playing for Glasgow. I have a lot of fun playing here and it’ll be good to get back out there.
“I’ve seen the games and while the results haven’t been going our way, I think the younger lads have all done pretty well. It’s good to see these young guys coming through and proving that they are good enough.
“But the fans will be disappointed with our start and rightly so. We’ve not played up to the standards we set ourselves and it’s not been good enough so far.”
The Warriors have gone on long winning runs often during recent PRO14 campaigns and the time is ripe for another, he thinks.
“We’ve put a bit of pressure on ourselves to go out and close that gap on the leaders in our conference,” continued Horne. “We know what we’ve got to do and it should bring out the best in us.
“We just want to get back out on the pitch and show what we’re capable of. We’ve got a few wrongs to right from that game against Kings in South Africa last year as well as the start of the season so we’re all desperate to get out and put in a good performance.”
With Ali Price out for another few weeks, Horne is the definite first choice nine for the next few weeks, and has a chance to put down a marker for the Six Nations in the spring with Greig Laidlaw’s international future still undecided.
“I’ve got a bit more experience now if I’m chosen to start and get a run of games I can build momentum personally and for the team,” he said.
“I think Pickle (Nick Frisby) and Jamie (Dobie) have done really well, Jamie especially in his first few games, he’s been brilliant.”