Former Glasgow Hawks scrum-half, Iain Monaghan, has a post as a development officer with Viadana.

Warning Shot - The Herald reports


Viadana aim tomorrow to reinforce Italian rugby's growing credibility at the expense of the Scottish game, according to the ex-Glasgow Warrior who hopes to mastermind his former team's destruction.

Still to win a Heineken Cup match, the Italian side have less to play for tomorrow than their visitors, who are aiming to pick up a four-try bonus point to boost their chances of qualification for the quarter-finals.

However, Calvin Howarth, Viadana's New Zealand-born play-maker who won five Scotland A caps while with Glasgow, has warned his old team-mates that they will do well to avoid defeat.

"We could easily have beaten Biarritz and should definitely have beaten Saracens if we hadn't taken the foot off the gas at half-time because we thought we'd got the job done," he said.

"Saracens came over here on a fine day which was perfect for running rugby and I think they thought they were going to run in another 70 points against us after what had happened the previous week, so maybe we caught them off guard. However, it is also the case that we play well at home and like to play good running rugby, with a very, very vocal support - who call themselves the Miclas - behind us. Perhaps people are beginning to realise that when they come over here they have to bring their full-strength side and be ready to play."

The stand-off - first brought to Scottish rugby around a decade ago by Sean Lineen, the Warriors head coach, when he was backs coach at Boroughmuir - explained that while Viadana's own priorities now lie elsewhere they are keen to do their bit for the national cause.

"Italian club rugby is beginning to make real progress and we want to play our part in that," he said. "Treviso did really well beating Newport in Wales recently having come close to beating them at home the week before and Calvisano beat Leeds and this is our last home match.

"Obviously we are definitely out of the Heineken Cup and our real focus now is the cup and our Super Ten which we have to get into the final of to qualify for the Heineken Cup next year. However, while we're a bit more relaxed we badly want to win a game in this tournament, particularly after having had a couple of near-misses and I will be doing everything in my power to make sure Glasgow don't win here."

Naturally there is a personal element to that as well and Lineen has noted that in-depth knowledge of the opposition is a very useful tool for the Italians.

"I know all of the Glasgow boys very well and I'm particularly friendly with the Antipodeans so I've spoken a fair bit to Sam Pinder, but trying to get information from him has been like trying to get blood from a stone," Howarth laughed.

With Stuart Moffat, the former Border Reivers and Scotland full-back, set to make his competitive debut for Viadana tomorrow, Howarth is part of a growing group at the club who have strong Scottish connections. It also includes ex-Reivers centre Garry Law who played in the first meeting of the sides at Firhill, while Iain Monaghan, the former Glasgow Hawks scrum-half, has a post there as a development officer.

Just as there was an exodus of Scottish players to English and French clubs last summer, so it seems likely to be a route more will take to extend their professional careers.

"I've got another year on my contract here which will take me up to 33 and the body can only take so much, but before I left Glasgow I had a long chat with Sean and coaching was an option at that point which I would still like to go back to the UK and do when I'm finished, maybe at Boroughmuir," said Howarth.

"I certainly knew I needed a change because I didn't want to finish my career sitting on the bench. The move has worked out very well, not only for my rugby, but for my family. The lifestyle is excellent, training in t-shirts a lot of the time which is a bit different from Scotland.

"This is also a great club in a town where rugby is the No.1 sport. Back in Scotland you sometimes feel that the SRU are having to scrimp and save all the time to keep the professional teams going, whereas here it really feels as if you have a community behind you. When the team needs something there is that sense that everyone is going to try to provide the help required to make it happen.

"I don't think people realise how good the rugby is over here, but more and more are beginning to. We've got a few Scottish players over here and it has to be better for some of them than spending a lot of time sitting on a bench."

This article was posted on 11-Jan-2008, 09:02 by Hugh Barrow.