GRIGG’S ON FIRE AT LAST
GLASGOW WARRIORS try scoring hero Nick Grigg has played himself into his side’s long-term plans after his man-of-the-match display against the Dragons.
Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend revealed the centre, for so long a fringe player, would now come into contention for a regular starting place even when his 16 Scotland internationals return to the club after the RBS Six Nations.
In an outstanding display, the New Zealander scored two tries back-toback when the Warriors were 10 points behind with his scores coming at a vital time.
For his first, he broke through two tackles to rumble over the line. His second came from a lovely solo run that put his team in the driving seat after their nervous start.
‘Nick was excellent out there,’ said Townsend. ‘He showed today in attack and defence how dangerous he is. He’s now got himself in contention for a place in the first-team squad when all the players come back from Scotland duty after the Six Nations. On that showing, he’s definitely earned the right to be in that mix in the future.’
Townsend admitted going behind against the Dragons was the ‘wake-up’ call his under-pressure side needed.
It was only after losing 10 points without reply that they sprang into life scoring seven tries in a vital bonus-point win that stopped the rot after three consecutive Guinness Pro12 league losses.
‘That poor start was down to a bit of rustiness from us and the fact that the Dragons played well,’ said Townsend.
‘Defensively we were not as good as we could have been early on.
‘Their early try was a wake-up call and there was definitely a step up in focus and intent from the players the moment we went behind.’
It was an Angus O’Brien penalty and Rynard Landman’s converted try that helped the Welsh side into an early 10-0 lead which caused such concern among the Warriors coaching staff.
They need not have worried as the only other time they put points on the board was in the last play of the game when Tyler Morgan went over for a converted try.
In between, Glasgow went on the rampage with Grigg’s two tries followed by others from Rory Hughes, Ratu Tagive, Lee Jones, Mark Bennett and Peter Horne — who also put over six out of seven conversions.
Townsend admitted even with the win his team would still struggle to make the Pro12 play-offs as they remain detached from the top four with just five games left.
‘We do have some tough matches ahead,’ said the Warriors head coach. ‘We play the champions Connacht at home and we’ve got Munster and Leinster away, but we’ll have some reinforcements coming back from the Six Nations for those matches.
‘We will have the Scotland boys back in the future for these games and guys like Nick Grigg have taken full advantage of them being away.’
Grigg admitted his side had started badly but once they got into their stride played some superb rugby. After three straight Pro12 defeats the confidence was now back with his team.
‘We are all very pleased with that win,’ said the Glasgow centre.
‘There are positive vibes in the changing room after a tough few weeks. We didn’t start well but did get it together in the end.’