DTH is happy to be back home again
Dan van der Merwe admitted he couldn’t have dreamed of a better “homecoming” to Glasgow. The big Canadian bagged a try double to help zap Zebre – just five days after returning to the Warriors after being away for three years.
And the Friday night 68-7 romp propelled the Scotstoun brigade to an almost certain home tie in the Pro14 semi-finals.
DTH beamed: “I couldn’t have asked for more in my first match back.
“The team performed really well and I was lucky enough to finish off a couple of moves.
“I knew my fitness wouldn’t be a problem because I came here after playing four internationals for Canada.”
In the wake of spells with the Scarlets and Newcastle Falcons, Van der Merwe added: “I am just delighted to be back at the club I love – in the city i call home.
“The performance spoke volumes about this squad, where we want to be and what we want to do.
“Many aspects of the set-up are very similar to how they were when I left.
“There are lots of familiar faces – along with talented young guys coming through. “Everyone enjoys their rugby–andi am sure i will be too.
“The one thing that HAS changed is the playing surface.
“It is now a superb artificial pitch – that’s the BIG one for me.”
Meanwhile, Edinburgh boss Richard Cockerill reckons his born-again troops have learned how to be jailbreakers.
He delivered his verdict after watching them stage a dramatic escape act to beat Connacht 29-22 in Galway. Sub Duncan Weir’s late 16-point volley boosted the Gunners’ bid to reach the Pro14 title play-offs.
And candid Cockerill said: “Connacht played really well and handled the wet conditions better than us.
“But I’m really proud of how we stayed in the fight and were able to create opportunities when it mattered.
“The guys dug themselves out and they should take a huge amount of credit for that.
“Because we’re hard working, we stay in games and we’re bloody hard to beat.
“We we’re getting in a habit of thinking we can really win tight games, regardless of what’s going on around us.” Cockerill’s men now turn their attention to Saturday’s European Challenge Cup quarter final showdown with Cardiff Blues at Murrayfield.
He stressed: “We’re not good enough to get ahead of ourselves.
“We have to be right every time we play.
“If we’d lost against Connacht, we’d have deserved to lose.
“I don’t know what will happen over the next few weeks, but we will make some of the big teams sweat. “Every time we play, we have to grit our teeth and roll up our sleeves.
“That is what big teams do and that’s what the best teams do.
“We’re not there yet, but were becoming a really hard team to beat.”