Grigg grateful for kick up backside in the nick of time
It didn’t get heated. I realised I had to step it up
THERE has been a fair bit of chat in recent weeks about the emerging youngsters at Glasgow Warriors, but the future health of the club also depends on some of the more experienced players on the books rediscovering their best form, as 28-year-old Nick Grigg demonstrated with his valuable 26-minute contribution to Saturday’s bonus point win away to Zebre.
On his day, Grigg is a fiendishly difficult proposition for opposition defences to deal with, with his pace, power, low centre of gravity and sharp running lines highly effective at getting his team on the front foot.
However, by his own admission, he has struggled to produce his best rugby in recent months, resulting in a civil but frank conversation with head coach Danny Wilson and relegation out of the starting XV.
While some of his woes can be linked to factors out-with his own control – principally the lack of an authoritative No.10 for a large chunk of the season – he knows the onus is now on him to remedy the situation, and he made a decent start to that process in the 31-20 win on Saturday.
When Grigg appeared off the bench, Warriors were 20-10 down and had just returned to full complement after Sam Johnson and Ollie Smith had spent overlapping spells in the sin-bin.
Within minutes, his powerful burst and well-timed pass set up a Jamie Dobie try which hauled the visitors right back into the contest, and he then scored the bonus-point securing fourth try with eight minutes to go.
“I’ve been very honest with Nick,” said Wilson.
“We probably didn’t think he had played as well in his opportunities as we have seen from him in the past and not being selected was giving him a bit of a rattle, which I know he didn’t like because he’s a very competitive squad member.
“But there is one way to respond to it … when you get your opportunity you take it. He got his opportunity today and he took it. I thought he played really well, made a big difference, and I’m really pleased with his response.”
Grigg agreed that he had a point to prove, but stressed there was no bitterness at the way he has been handled.
“It was just a polite, friendly conversation,” explained the player. “It didn’t get heated, and I can see it from their [the coaches] point of view as well as my own. It was pretty selfexplanatory and I understood where they were coming from.
“In the last few games I played, I was maybe a bit comfortable with where I was. I just got a bit of a kick up the bum and realised I had to step it up a bit. I’ve been doing that at training and mentally I feel good so when I came out, I brought the impact that the coaches wanted to see.
“Obviously, you get a bit p***ed-off and frustrated, but there are no hard feelings. It’s all good. The coach picks the team and you’ve got to deal with it yourself in your own way. That way, for me, was to get my head down and keep training and wait for my next opportunity.
“I had a fair bit of energy over the last couple weeks and had a point to prove at training. I came into the game a bit nervous but it brought the best out of me and it was good to get the win.”
Of course, Warriors’ strong end to the match was not purely down to Grigg. Ian Keatley – the 33-year-old Irishman who was making his debut for the club after joining on a short-term contract until the end of the season – brought control at stand-off and got the visitors playing in the right areas of the park after he appeared on the scene just before the hour, while Zebre running out of steam was also a factor.
“Personally, if I’m honest, I thought I started the season really well,” continued Grigg. “But in that Exeter game [which Warriors lost 42-0 in mid-December] we didn’t perform as a team, and then in the last two Edinburgh games [in early January] I felt I didn’t see much ball.
“That comes down to outside circumstances, but it also comes down to me wanting the ball, I guess, and being hungry to get my hands on it. That was something I had to think about.
“I’m not just going to go through the motions here. I want to get my hands on the ball. Today I was just pleased to get the ball a couple of times to show what I can do.”
Saturday’s victory lifted Warriors to fourth in Conference A of the PRO14. They are now 10 points behind third-placed Ospreys but have a game in hand and play the Welshmen at Scotstoun on Friday night.
The criteria for qualifying for the Champions Cup next season is still unknown, and fourth place might end up being enough – but finishing third will make sure of it.
ABREAKTHROUGH performer domestically amid the vacuum of last summer, Keely Hodgkinson announced herself to the rest of the world last night with an extraordinary gold medal in the women’s 800 metres at the European Indoor Championships in Torun.
The event has some healthy competition on these shores with Jemma Reekie and Lynsey Sharp previously heading the Brit pack.
Four days after her 19th birthday, the wonderkid from Wigan underlined her readiness to join the elite with a confident triumph, the youngest victor from the UK at this showpiece since Marilyn Neufville captured the 400m title at just 17 at the inaugural edition in 1970.
“You couldn’t really ask for a better birthday present could you?” she beamed.
It is a taste of formidable things to come for Hodgkinson, whose coaches include former 800m great Jenny Meadows and her husband Trevor Painter.
Having demolished the world Under-20 record in Vienna in breaking the twominute barrier nine weeks ago, she ably held off Poland’s Joanna Jozwik and Angelika Cichocka in a dash for the line in a time of 2:03.88.
A trip to Tokyo this summer must surely be in her sights with Reekie, who turned 23 on Saturday, an ideal benchmark.
“I’ve always thought it doesn’t matter how old you are, as long as you’re healthy and doing things right you can be capable of anything,” she said. “You’ve just got to believe in yourself and not be intimidated by the older girls who may have a lot more experience than you.
“But I’ve got my own experience at junior level and I’ve taken that in with me. I’ve looked up to Jemma and when she had that breakthrough year last year, it was so incredible to watch. Hopefully I can challenge her and we can push each other on in the next few years.”
Zoey Clark led GB&NI to a superb silver in the women’s 4x400m relay final to cap a total team haul of 12 medals – two gold, four silver and six bronze – that left an inexperienced British squad third in a medal table topped by the Netherlands.
The Dutch finished with a flourish by winning the men’s 4x400m – with the British team in bronze – and then matching that feat in the women’s final.
But Clark was good value for her fifth major championship medal, handing over to individual bronze medallist Jodie Williams in second place. A storming third leg from Ama Pipi put the British team into the lead but Jessie Knight was overhauled on the last lap.
Following a long hiatus during Covid, this felt unexpectedly satisfying, Clark conceded.
“I’d been training away the whole time over the last 16 months but racing is so different,” she said. “There’s been so much excitement about doing it again. In previous years, I’d maybe forgotten that side of it but I came here so enthused to race. A happy athlete is a quick athlete and that really paid off.”
On the final day there was a bronze for Jamie Webb in the men’s 800m behind Polish pair Patryk Dobek and Mateusz Borkowski, while Jakob Ingebrigtsen completed a golden double by winning the 3,000m in a personal best of 7:48.20 to supplement his 1500m triumph.
Andrew Butchart rued a squandered chance with the Scottish record holder pinned down and left behind in seventh place.
“When Jakob hit the front, I realised it was dead slow,” the 29-year-old said. “It was four or five abreast and I thought
‘do I go around everybody or try and sneak up the inside?’
“Neither really happened and I got stuck. You can’t give these guys a metre or you get eaten alive. And that’s what happened, I got eaten alive. It’s just not good enough.”
Sister act Cindy Sember and Tiffany Porter won silver and bronze in the women’s 60m hurdles with Nadine Visser of the Netherlands defending her title.
Andrew Pozzi equalled his personal best of 7.43 secs in the men’s 60m hurdles final, but it could only secure silver as France’s Wilhem Belocian won out – just – in 7.42 secs.
“I wanted gold,” the world indoor champion said. “But
I ran a good race and to not win to Wilhem is fine. He’s been really good and he’s a deserving champion. I gave my best performance. I just couldn’t quite get it together.”
France’s Kevin Mayer regained his heptathlon title, while Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis, who took possession of the world record in Glasgow 13 months ago, snared pole vault gold with a championship best of 6.05m.
I’ve always thought it doesn’t matter how old you are