SUNDAY HERALD REPORTS

Defeat of Dragons delights Lineen as youngsters grow up fast

Alasdair Reid

10 Oct 2010
Scottish teams have fallen flat on their faces at the Heineken Cup’s first hurdle often enough, so it would be churlish to complain about the details of Glasgow’s 21-13 win against the Dragons at Firhill on Friday.

Yes, they butchered a succession of opport-unities. Yes, they failed to take the bonus point that their possession and territory deserved. But no, they didn’t start their European campaign with the defeat that would have derailed them there and then.

The importance of that cannot be overstressed. Even the giants of the tournament, and Glasgow have a couple in their group, look at the early stages of the Heineken Cup as a survival exercise. They say you can’t win a golf tournament on its first day, but you can lose it, and Glasgow’s hopes of doing anything in Europe this year would have been obliterated had they lost to a Dragons side who have given them so much grief in the past.

In that light, and especially after the fractiousness of their Magners League match last month, the satisfaction of Glasgow coach Sean Lineen was understandable. All the more so in a season when he has been robbed of the services of a raft of senior players. Had Glasgow entered the Heineken Cup with the squad they had a year ago then they might have dared to dream of great things ahead, but without Dan Parks and Kelly Brown, who have moved away, and with injuries taking Johnnie Beattie, Chris Cusiter and Al Kellock out of the equation, the side have acquired an alarmingly callow look.

But you grow up fast in Europe, and the Glasgow tyros will have to move to an altogether different level next weekend when they take on the grizzled old stagers of Wasps, who play Toulouse today. Even Lineen looked a touch ashen as he reeled off the names – Shaw, Worsley, Van Gisbergen, Vickery – of players who have more miles on their clocks than almost any other side in the tournament. “They’re very basic, but incredibly effective,” he sighed, as well he might after losing heavily to the two-times finalists in a pre-season game only a few weeks ago.

And yet, there are some decent omens for Glasgow too. In the past two seasons they have travelled south to face English opponents – Gloucester last season, Bath the year before – and have given their hosts frights. What they failed to do both times was pull off a win, but there is no question that they have shown the ability to do so.

Even after a poor start to the Magners season, Lineen is convinced that his young side is improving – and, more critically, learning – fast. “Composure is the thing we’ve talked about, but that only comes with experience,” he said. “We’re getting it. It’s hard and at times it’s painful, but the guys are growing all the time. It’s about dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. When the players look at the game on Monday they’ll be kicking themselves and wondering why they didn’t score in certain positions. But I’m delighted for them because they’ve worked hard and been under a lot of pressure.”

Massive responsibilities have been handed to members of the Glasgow squad who might have expected an easier time to bed, but some of the more experienced players have taken leadership on board. Graeme Morrison and Max Evans were outstanding, and there was another excellent performance from Colin Gregor at scrum-half, two months short of his 34th birthday, who continues to play with the appetite of a teenager.

In truth, even a loser’s bonus against Wasps next Sunday would be a point to cherish. But Lineen has every right to set his sights a few notches higher than that.

This article was originally posted on 10-Oct-2010, 16:37 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 10-Oct-2010, 16:43.