Workaholic Warrior confident Scots can upset autumn apple cart

IF timing is everything in comedy it comes in pretty handy in international sport, too, and no Cheltenham winner has judged their run on the rails with quite the same precision as Glasgow flanker Rob Harley.

Glasgow won in France for only the second time in European competition last Saturday and that was at least partly down to the workaholic flanker with the Irn-Bru barnet. There are constructive players and there are destructive players and Harley is firmly in the latter category.

No one will mistake him for a offloading genius but, if it’s pianos you need shifting, there are few better. Glasgow’s defence kept Montpellier’s all-star, sparkling attack at bay for 80 minutes and Harley was at the heart of that defensive effort. If some claim the flanker is a little onepaced to cope with the sheer speed of the international game, every side needs a workhorse and Harley could also bring some of that gallus Glasgow attitude to the Scotland squad.

“There is a notable confidence from the way we played,” says Harley. “We have the ability to go out and win those games. It feels the same in the Scotland camp, that we feel we can win all three Tests.

“We took the lead [in France] and felt confident with it, feeling that we wouldn’t concede. It’s a lesson we want to take with us for Scotland. We will have that confidence regardless of how the game goes – but, if we get a lead, we believe it’s something we can build on. We know our defence will make it really tough for teams to do anything against us. We can frustrate anyone.”

Harley expressed some surprise that former skipper Kelly Brown was an absentee from the national squad while admit- ting that, for all the ferocity of Glasgow’s recent European games, the international game is a different animal altogether.

“Test rugby is a step up in physicality and speed. We know to expect that against Argentina, for a start. It’s something they’re known for. They’re like Scotland, they have a warrior mentality as a race. They will be particularly keen after us beating them in Argentina in the summer. They will want to restore some pride.”