Scott Cumming might think about following the route to riches in France and England a little later but for now he’s thrilled to commit to the club he always dreamed of playing for.
The Scotland lock has signed a multi-year extension with Glasgow, a rare bit of good news for the embattled Warriors heading into the 1872 Cup after the season’s struggles, news that Adam Hastings is moving on and two unexpected weekends off because of Covid-19 issues.
But the 24-year-old is convinced by the quality of the squad and believes there are good times ahead.
Ambition at Scotstoun
“I believe in this squad and I believe in the club,” he said. “If I didn’t feel that the club had the ambition to try and compete and win trophies then I probably wouldn’t want to stay at it.
“We want to be a club that’s competing in Europe and competing heavily in the league. Just because we’ve had a bit of a blip in our form doesn’t mean that we’ve all of a sudden gone on a downwards spiral.
“100 per cent I believe the team can still do really well.”
As a result, the negotiating process didn’t take long – he told his agent from the start that he wanted to stay and when the Warriors agreed, it was plain sailing.
‘Something I dreamed of for years’
“It wasn’t really a difficult decision,” he added. “I was born and bred in Glasgow, I supported the club for years before I even started playing, so representing the Warriors means a lot to me.
“But what I see is guys that are coming in every day and are willing to work hard and fight for the jersey and to represent it well. Just because we’ve had a couple of tough games doesn’t mean I want to change something I’ve dreamed of for years.
“We’re still on a learning curve with a lot of new coaches, but things are changing.”
Cummings comes into the 1872 Cup clash with Edinburgh as the man in possession of one of the precious Scotland second row shirts, but the “trial” element of these games doesn’t come into his thinking.
Rivalry game
“I would not say it is anything to do with competing for Scotland places, more that it is Glasgow and Edinburgh rivalry,” he said. “I am happy just to play that rivalry game and the rest will take of itself.
“Both Glasgow and Edinburgh had so many players out of their squads with the internationals and were having to bring in academy players and guys in on loan.
“There has been a lot of chop and change. We had to isolate for a bit but now that we are all back in, we do feel it is a bit of a reset and will push on in the next couple of weeks.”