Its good to see thaT Jags manager Ian MaCall acknowledeges the Warriors efforts in regard to teir fitness-Ian must have gained his knowledge of the game when he coached the Bankies who were at that time based out of Burnbrae

THE HERAlad REPORTS
Assurances made over Firhill moveKEVIN FERRIE June 22 2007
Their new signing Chris O'Young was part of a Glasgow Warriors delegation that met supporters last night to offer assurances about what they can expect when the team moves home to Firhill.

Officials from the Scottish Rugby Union and their new landlords, Partick Thistle, were also on hand to promise that issues raised about a return to the ground would be addressed ahead of the new season.

Those include seeking guarantees that Friday nights would be considered the main rugby day plus assurances about the quality and range of catering and the nature of stewarding and seating within the ground.

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What is beyond question is that the facilities themselves are far superior than those at Hughenden, as was placed in perspective by O'Young, who left the Australian Super 14 side Western Force to join the Warriors.

"Coming from Perth and having played in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa as well, this ground is definitely comparable," said the 26-year-old scrum-half, who is particularly looking forward to linking up with Dan Parks, the Australian-born Scotland stand-off, who grew up in the same area and was a close friend of his older brother. "It looks good for the type of rugby we're going to play."

It is not only the rugby team and their supporters who require reassurances about how the relationship will work, however, and a major issue when they played at the ground two seasons ago was the condition of the pitch.

Alan Cowan, the Partick Thistle chairman, admitted, though, that much of that had been down to misunderstanding.

"We had a problem with our pitch at that time and rugby got the blame, but it wasn't really rugby's fault," he said. "The pitch was reseeded that summer, however, and is now in far better condition so we hope it will stand up to both sports."

That message was reinforced by Thistle's new manager Ian McCall, albeit he admitted to having been worried about it when he took up the post.

"I was concerned about the pitch, but rugby's changed and it's not about 30-stone props with eight inch studs digging up the pitch any more," he said. "It's not ideal but it's the financial world we live in and, in any case, when I played football, even at Ibrox, there was always a first-team game and a second-team game on the pitch every week."

As for the signing of O'Young, Sean Lineen, the Warriors coach, believes the club have picked up a top-notch player. "He has slick passing skills and, as well as also being quick off the mark, he is not afraid to speak his mind."

Lineen also admitted he is looking forward to the squad reaping the dividends of the personal tussle between O'Young and Sam Pinder, the Scotland cap, for the No.9 starting slot.

This article was posted on 22-Jun-2007, 07:02 by Hugh Barrow.