Grigg right behind switch as Jones joins back row
IF Danny Wilson’s experiment with Huw Jones at full-back for Glasgow Warriors in tomorrow’s 1872 Cup decider at Murrayfield is a success, then Nick Grigg will have one less rival to worry about in the battle for the No.13 jersey. But that isn’t the only reason the New Zealand-born 27-year-old is backing the switch. He also happens to think it is a pretty good idea.
There are certainly aspects to Jones’ game that you can imagine suiting a move out of the heavy traffic in midfield and into the more open expanses at the back, particularly his pace, and his reading of the game which allows him to run devastating support lines.
While his kicking is not a recognised strength, he is playing in a team which traditionally places a premium in running the ball back, so the bigger concern is with how he will cope under the high ball.
You can bet your last dollar that opposition head coach Richard Cockerill will instruct his stand-off, Jaco van der Walt, to orchestrate an aerial bombardment this weekend to test the mettle of the new boy in the No 15 jersey, but Grigg has backed his team-mate to soak it all up.
“I think he will go well,” he insisted. “He has been training bloody well. He is an all-round skilful guy, to be honest, and I think he will be able to fit into that mould that he needs to at 15.”
Grigg joked that the players had drawn straws to decide who would take over the problematic full-back slot, but the reality is that there were established options which Wilson could have gone for, including Glenn Bryce, Tommy Seymour and youngster Rufus McLean.
The coach has clearly taken the view that there is scope in this rather peculiar end of the season to try something a bit different, which has the potential to be a big boost to the balance of the squad in the longer-term.
With the regular season now six weeks shorter than originally planned due to the Covid lockdown, and only two instead of three play-off places up for grabs, it would take a freak set of results for Warriors to make it into the knock-out phase this year. That is a kick in the teeth for a team which has got used to being top dogs in Scotland in recent times, but Grigg insists that there is still plenty to play for.
“It was pretty frustrating [that the season was cut short],” he said. “We had a pretty good run of games to
go and I felt our form was improving and we were on the up. It is a shame because we would probably have been in contention for those finals.
“But we are still taking these next two games as must-wins. It comes down to pride now and the 1872 Cup. There is a slight chance we still might make it through [to the play-offs] but it is frustrating that we lost out on those games we had to go.”
It may technically be a home game for Glasgow, but it is being played at Edinburgh’s home ground, and with momentum on their side the capital outfit will start as comfortable favourites, but Grigg reckons his team have what it takes to cause an upset.
“The edge for us is always going to be our speed and our dynamism off unstructured ball as well as structured attack,” he said. “We have spoken about our attack being up there with the best teams in the competition. There has been a lot of focus on our defensive strategies and a few other things.
“A good thing has been the simplicity we have had in our training. We don’t want to over-complicate things due to the short period of time we have had to prepare or things will be too chaotic on the field. We are clear in our minds what we have to do on and I think we will get some good performances.
“Hopefully, we can shock Edinburgh in a different way which they haven’t seen before.”