SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY REPORTS
IAIN MORRISON

THE old inter-district championship was played between Edinburgh, Glasgow, the Borders and the North and Midlands from the 1953 onwards. In all the years it was played, and there were a couple of gaps here and there, Glasgow won it outright on just three occasions.

Some things never change and after recording just five wins in their 20 league outings last season, Glasgow rugby is still struggling for success. However, one important difference marks out last season's side from previous years.


Glasgow might not have won very much but they always fought with the venom of an underdog; it might be a mongrel compared to Edinburgh but it had a bite. The city produced such players as Ian McLaughlan, Richie Dixon and Bill Cuthbertson, no-nonsense characters who exacted their pound of flesh. After an encounter with Glasgow you might walk away with a win but the bruises would last a lot longer than the euphoria. Even in recent years, Andy Nicol epitomised the breed; not the most polished scrumhalf in the world but very possibly the most competitive. His team-mate at Bath, the England No.8 Dave Egerton, once espoused this theory of forward play: "You need six bastards and two footballers, and if one of the bastards can play a bit of football then so much the better." That balance may be less relevant in the professional era but, any which way you add up the numbers, last year's "Warriors" were horribly misnamed.

In a disappointing season, the club lost a host of matches that they should have won, finishing within one converted try of the opposition on seven league occasions. They displayed a Jekyll and Hyde character albeit with rather more evidence of Mr Nice than Mr Nasty. Two wins over Munster were mirrored by two losses to the Dragons; so far off the pace in Wales that they were in danger of disappearing altogether.

Admittedly, Hugh Campbell's squad was criminally under-funded in comparison to Edinburgh's squad but still they should have done better than they did and, by mid-season, a change of coach was well nigh inevitable.

Sean Lineen has brought a fresh face and plenty of enthusiasm to the job but whether it will be enough remains to be seen. The man once seen as a Scotland coach in waiting has slipped in the ranking, tainted by association with Glasgow's dismal season. Even after the Kiwi took over, his side still gave Connacht their biggest win of the campaign in the final match, an Irish victory that consigned Glasgow to the bottom of the league.

A new season at Glasgow brings with it a new sense of optimism and, for once, it may be justified. Just how Lineen managed to persuade Ally Kellock to move west is a mystery but he did and Glasgow fans will welcome their prodigal son back home. Francisco Leonelli is another much-needed addition to the squad because Glasgow have not fielded a decent fullback since Glen Metcalfe returned to New Zealand. Samoan prop Justin Va'a looks like he'll make a big impact in the Magners League and Andy Newman will surely bring a little more attitude to his workplace than Glagsow's previous gentle giant Nathan Ross managed. But the next few months will be crucial ones for so many involved with Glasgow rugby, it is not just the new recruits and the coaching staff who will find themselves under the microscope.

Prop forward Ewan Murray, breakaway Andy Wilson and centre Graham Morrison have all been on the verge of the national squad for years now without quite managing that final step. The signs are good, with Morrison the stand-out player in the Churchill Cup, but another season of injured bodies and injured pride will see the trio receive a sharp slap in the face with the "nearly" stick. Flyhalf Dan Parks owes a few people, not least Frank Hadden. The Scotland coach picked him against the wishes of half the Scottish rugby community only for Parks to rush out of the defensive line in Durban and gift the Springboks a try. He must do better because Colin Gregor offers a ready-made alternative, especially if Glasgow want to capitalise on an exciting back three.

After playing at all the international age group levels, there is a belief that Wasps may have held winger Thom Evans back too long, for which Glasgow fans will be grateful. His decision to throw his lot in with Scotland is a high risk strategy: going from former Heineken Cup winners to current Celtic League losers is not an obvious career move, but one that may yet pay dividends. After all, a hat-trick of tries within 17 minutes of pulling on a Warriors shirt offers a statement of intent.

In short, it is crunch time for Glasgow rugby and all who sail in her. The squad is still lacking depth in certain positions (quality locks are thin on the ground) but with eight props on their books and a decent starting XV, the club is infinitely better prepared than it has been for several years.

Investors are still sizing them up and there is no guarantee of future funding from the SRU, so it is vital for the future of rugby in the city that Glasgow puts its best foot forward and if it lands legitimately on an opposition body then perhaps Hughenden will no longer be every other team's favourite place to play.

Opening fixture: Friday, September 1, Warriors v Dragons (7.30pm KO).

This article was posted on 27-Aug-2006, 07:43 by Hugh Barrow.