Warrior Rich desperate to fell Dragons
Published on 8 Oct 2010


Bert Mitchell

Glasgow’s Richie Gray admits their Heineken Cup Pool Five opener against Newport Gwent Dragons tonight is the Warriors’ biggest game of the season so far.

The Warriors have drawn one of the toughest groups in the initial stages of the competition, with reigning champions Toulouse and English Premiership giants and former Euro champs London Wasps completing the pool alongside tonight’s opposition.

With Wasps next up for Sean Lineen’s side on Saturday week, at Adams Park, and Glasgow coming into European action on the back of a four-game Magners League losing streak, Gray says his mates must front up with a win tonight.

He said: “I guess you could say that this is the biggest game of the season for us so far this term. For a start, in the pool stages of the Heineken Cup it is absolutely vital you win your opening game, especially at home.

“Last season we lost our opener against Biarritz, with the game turning on one lost line-out, and I think that was the result that decided we did not make it out of the group stages.

“But if we can beat the Dragons tonight then it puts them on the back foot and gives us momentum going to Wasps next weekend who will also have their work cut out at Toulouse on Sunday.

“On top of that we have been playing increasingly better in the Magners League without getting a win and it is vital we put that run to bed.

“When you factor in that the first in that losing sequence was at the Dragons then it definitely gives tonight’s game an extra significance.”

Much extra responsibility has been heaped on the 21-year-old lock’s shoulders with the continued long-term injury absence of talismanic skipper Al Kellock.

And the Glasgow born-and-bred Gray knows his mates in the pack will have to produce their best to bust-up the Dragons at the contact.

He added: “We know how tough the Dragons are up front. They are one of the most street-wise clubs in European rugby and it is going to be tough but if we can provide a concerted performance for the full 80 minutes we will give ourselves every chance.

“We are fed up of saying that we felt we played really well and should have got the win and tonight it is about making that happen.

“We beat them in both the Magners and the Heineken Cup at home last season and we are determined to make it a hat-trick tonight.”

Gray added: “We are going to have to lift the level of our play a notch but the win has been coming. With the type of backing we get from our fans on a European night we are determined to kick the our Heineken Cup campaign off with a win.

“It is going to be about making sure we leave nothing in the locker.”

This article was posted on 8-Oct-2010, 17:13 by Hugh Barrow.