Inspiring talk by King Kenny proves a hit with Glasgow’s rugby stars
● Macarthur said squad relished chance to meet ex-liverpool and Scotland great
Football legend Kenny Dalglish is the latest sporting great to pay a visit to Glasgow Warriors and pass on some pearls of wisdom and hooker Pat Macarthur revealed he and his team-mates love having these opportunities to pick the brains of such towering figures.
Gregor Townsend has previously invited the likes of Gordon Strachan for talks and Macarthur said the players appreciated former Celtic, Liverpool and Scotland star Dalglish taking the time to pay them a visit last week.
“It was massively interesting to have him here and meet him,” said the 29-year-old. “We have had people in from all walks of life. It is fascinating to hear how other professionals work, especially folk who have been as successful as Kenny.
“We have had messages from Sir Alex Ferguson in the past and, for me, that is amazing. I love to read books on how other people perform, what their mindset is and that their views are because we get to question them.”
Macarthur said that Dalglish had told the squad that natural talent was nothing without a willingness to graft at your chosen trade.
“He talked about how the best players were humble. The best ones he worked with were not the big headed ones. They were gifted players, yes, but worked very hard. All the best players in the world are great team-mates and we all try to work towards that and be that.
“It’s a great chance to question people like Kenny about how they deal with certain situations and what it is like on certain occasions. We can learn from that. He was great fun. We had a good couple of giggles.”
Macarthur and his Glasgow team-mates are now keen to bounce back from last weekend’s disappointing loss at Munster in Europe and make a winning return to Guinness Pro12 action against Treviso at Scotstoun tomorrow night. When Vern Cotter announced his Scotland squad, which didn’t include six-times capped Macarthur, he said he felt the Thomond Park experience was a “wake up” for the Warriors pack.
The Irish side, who were playing for the first time since the tragic death of their coach and former player Anthony Foley, dominated the forwards exchanges and the hooker agreed with the national coach’s assessment.
“It was a special game for them, especially coming off the back of the Leicester game when we put ourselves out there, showed how good we were,” said the Ayrshireman. “Every week we have to prove ourselves. We have had a lot of learning since, a lot of talk and work and analysis on how that will not happe n again. The squad are excited to put right what did not go right at the weekend. Every week we get another chance to show how good we are and kick on. We review every game and try draw a line after that.”
Treviso have only won one game this season, which is one more than Zebre who visit Edinburgh tomorrow, and there is a concern that the Italian clubs are going backwards, or at least being left behind at a growing rate.
Macarthur admits tomorrow is a game Glasgow will be accepted to win but insists that, for a front row player, there is no such thing as an easy game against an Italian scrum.
“There will be no complacency from us, especially after the Munster game,” he said. “A big part of what has driven us is that there is constant competition for the shirt. If you are complacent then someone will nip your heels. It is a constant effort and battle to keep going.
“When I’ve played Italian teams in the past it has been the sorest I’ve felt afterwards.
“The Italians seem to pride themselves at the set piece, the mauling, the dark sides of the game, the ones the fans maybe don’t know much about but the ones that do will love watching it. I love the set-piece battles, the physicality in the tight area.”
Glasgow assistant Kenny Murray revealed that both Peter Horne and Tommy Seymour have been in training and could make their comebacks from injury. He also said new lock signing Brian Alainu’uese is “in the mix” for a Warriors debut.