Pyrgos is thriving after inter-city switch
● Scrum-half keen to strengthen his cap claims with Edinburgh move
Scrum-half Henry Pyrgos admits he received a bit of “banter” from his new teammates after crossing the 1872 Cup divide in the summer but is relishing a new chapter to his career in the capital.
Edinburgh coach Richard Cockerill made it clear at the end of last season that, with the departure of Sam Hidalgoclyne, he wanted one of Glasgow’s trio of international No 9s to make the move to the capital. In the end, it was 29-yearold, 27-times capped Pyrgos who made the switch.
The Dorset-born man has swiftly claimed the starting jersey and is viewing the move, after eight years with Glasgow, as a fresh start.
“It was quite a quick transition, but when I got here the players and coaches have just been really welcoming,” he said. “It’s been a really easy environment to come into and I’ve enjoyed it.
“Coming from Glasgow you get a bit of banter and stick from the boys and stuff, but once you get down to it it’s the same sort of stuff. I try to just get my head down and work hard. It’s a really hard-working group of players and coaches here, and it’s easy just to get on with that, really, and focus on games each week. Pre-season is not that much fun, but you get stuck in. You can see that this squad is really trying to build and keep pushing on week on week.”
Recent west-to-east moves
0 International scrum-half Henry Pyrgos has made a smooth transition from Glasgow to Edinburgh.
HENRY PYRGOS haven’t been without their problems, with stand-off Duncanweirjettisonedtoworcester and centre Mark Bennett enduring more injury misfortune.
“I don’t think you really think
like that,” said Pyrgos of previous problems with players who made the move. “I’m confident in what I can do. I came here just trying to work hard.
“I think that’s the perception on the outside that maybe things don’t work out. Personally you get stuck in, as I’ve said, and focus on the rugby. I’ve been fortunate to get some game time, so yeah, it’s not something I’ve thought too much about.”
After serving as Scotland vice-captain at the 2015 World Cup and skippering the land of his Grangemouth mother and Dundonian grandparents on occasion, Pyrgos has slipped a bit in the Test scrum-half pecking order, but believes being No 1 at Edinburgh boosts his chances ahead of next year’s World Cup.
“Yeah, that was the reason [I moved]. I mean there was an option to come to Edinburgh, I wasn’t playing as much as I’d have liked,” said Pyrgos who was battling with Ali Price and George Horne at Scotstoun.
“I really enjoyed my time at Glasgow but that was the decision I made and I’ve just got on with it.”
Pyrgos admitted that there had been some tough inward looking in the wake of last Friday’s shaky 31-30 home win over Benetton and predicted a more polished performance against the Cheetahs in the Pro14 tomorrow evening.
“I think it’s always pretty honest,” said Pyrgos of the debrief. “Cockers doesn’t beat around the bush; he’s pretty straighttalking. I think that’s the only way you get better.”
After a frustrating first ten months as a Glasgow Warriors player, Huw Jones believes that he is now ready to start reproducing his international form at club level. The 24-year-old managed only seven appearances and one try last season after joining up with Dave Rennie’s men towards the end of November 2017, before picking up an injury which ruled him out of the Guinness Pro14 play-offs.
Now, after getting a proper chance to recharge his batteries during the summer, and having fully recovered from the wrist surgery which kept him out of the first fortnight of the current season, he says he is fighting fit and raring to go.
He reckons his performance against the Dragons on Saturday night was his best yet for the club and is determined to build on that as a season-defining European showdown against English giants Saracens looms over the horizon.
“I’ve never really felt that confident in a Glasgow shirt, so it was quite nice to settle the nerves a bit, especially at home,” he said. “Now I’m looking forward to the upcoming games.”
Jones, pictured, scored a try as the Warriors defeated the Welsh side 29-13 at Scotstoun and the outside centre hopes to use it as a springboard to a sustained run of form.
“The fans expect, the coaches expect and, obviously, I expect a lot from myself,” he continued. “I set myself quite high standards and if I don’t meet those then I get pretty disappointed about it. That was my first actual pretty good performance for Glasgow, so I have felt that the pressure has been on.
“I had put all my energy into the end of the South African season and the Currie Cup, then came over here and went straight into the Autumn Tests so gave everything there, and it was another step then to try and gel here with a new club – it didn’t really work at the time.
“My first game was here [at Scotstoun] against Montpellier when we didn’t really play that well, and after that we hit a bad run of form when I wasn’t playing my best rugby. Then I went away to the Six Nations, and when I came back I got an injury which meant I didn’t play again for the rest of the season.
“It was a very stopstart season, which was really frustrating, so it has been great to have an almost full pre-season [ahead of the 2017-18 campaign]. Obviously, I had wrist surgery, but I was able to do plenty even when I wasn’t allowed to do contact or catch-and-pass – things like cycling and running – so my fitness is fine. And to come back from that and get a couple of games under my belt has been really good.”
The Warriors play Zebre at Scotstoun in the Pro14 on Friday night, before hosting the Saracens in the European Champions Cup on 14 October, followed by a trip to Wales to take on Cardiff Blues seven days later in the same competition.
“Coming from Glasgow you get a bit of banter and stick from the boys and stuff, but once you getdowntoitit’sthe same sort of stuff”