Glasgow will be seeking some more experience to back up Henry Pyrgos at scrum-half when they lose Niko Matawalu at the end of this season, revealed head coach Gregor Townsend.
The flying Fijian will leave the Warriors for Bath after three eventful years but Townsend feels more inclined to play him when the two clubs meet in the return European Champions Cup game in the West Country next month.
“I would be more, rather than less inclined to play him,” he said. “If he gets the opportunity to start in that game or come off the bench then he has a chance to say, I’m the player you are signing, this is what I can do.
“If we are going to Bath and we have an opportunity to get to the next round, it would be the first time ever for the club, so he will want to do as well as he can.”
In the long-term, Glasgow are looking for another scrum-half to back up Scotland international Pyrgos as the other two scrum-halves in the squad, Murray McConnell and Ali Price, have started the sum total of one game between them thus far for the Warriors.
“We are in the middle of building a squad for next season, and we have known for a few weeks that Niko would be leaving, so we will look to make sure we get enough depth at scrum-half to make his competitive next year,” he continued.
“You could say that we’re in the market. Whether international or not, you have to make sure you are looking for someone who fits in with the rugby we aspire to play, what they are like as characters, whether they are coming here for the right reasons.
“But yes, we are certainly looking for a scrum-half to compete with Henry. We have three Scottish-qualified scrum-halves still, so getting the best person in is the key.”
As for Niko, Townsend believes that the rest of rugby missed a trick in not gambling when the Fijian signed his first professional contract at the Warriors.
“I remember watching him play against Scotland,” said Townsend. “We needed to sign someone to back up Henry and Chris (Cusiter), and after that Sctoland game I watched him play for Fiji another two or three times.
“He got man of the tournament in the Hong Kong sevens for Fiji, so the potential was clearly there, but it was down to him. He made great gains physically and he has always worked hard on his game. “Him being here helped us get Jerry (Yanuyanutawa) and Leone (Nakarawa), two other Fijians, as well and they have been great for us as well.”
He has no doubts about the Fijian’s desire to give everything for the Warriors until he departs.
“I think this was a really tough decision for him, there was more to it than just money. This was his first pro club and he has transformed himself as a player, he has had a fantastic time hereand made a real connection with the supporters.
“We had been speaking to Niko about contracts for a while and he wants to do as well as he can for the club. You’ve seen that in his last two or three performances. He has played really good rugby and he will want to play as many games as possible.”
Meanwhile assistant coach Shade Munro feels Glasgow need to keep a cap on the passion of the derby match against Edinburgh on Saturday, the first of the two legs as Glasgow defend the 1872 Cup from their rivals, who they haven’t lost to since January 2011.
“We want to do what we are good at doing and not let the emotion takeover,” he said. “You could argue that last year we got a bit over-emotional and didn’t play the way we should have done, certainly in the first game.
“When they came here they played in totally the opposite way that they had been doing and surprised us, so that was impressive from an Edinburgh point of view.
“It will always have that extra edge. With the bragging rights it is huge amongst the players.
“Years ago it was `we have got to finish above Edinburgh, go to finish above the Borders’. Maybe it is a bit different now in that we are chasing the top four, but everyone at Glasgow really looks forward to these games and I know it is the same at Edinburgh.”