Key Glasgow Warriors trio close in on return ahead of quest for silverware
Glasgow Warriors may have slipped from first to fourth place, but there is a defiance within the group that their destiny remains in their own hands and their cause is likely to be helped by the return of some key players from injury. Richie Gray, Huw Jones and George Turner have not played since the Six Nations but all three are close to making their comebacks, providing the club with a timely lift as the play-offs loom.
Glasgow take on Zebre at Scotstoun on Friday in the final game of the regular season in what is their first outing since back-to-back defeats in South Africa against the Bulls and Lions. They are already assured of a top four finish in the United Rugby Championship which means they will be at home in the play-off quarter-final against opponents unknown a week on Saturday. Pete Murchie, the club’s defence coach, thinks there’s “a chance” Gray, Jones and Turner could be involved against Zebre.
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Hide Ad“Richie Gray’s been training for a couple of weeks now,” said Murchie. “He’s been working away while we’ve been in South Africa, especially with the A group who played against the [Ayrshire] Bulls on Friday night. He’s been training away with them. The same with George Turner. They’re certainly closer, especially Richie, to being involved. Huw Jones as well, he’s in the same boat, he’s been training with the A-team guys and they’re all looking sharp.
“They’ve got a chance [of facing Zebre]. It’s massive to have players coming back into the group, even just for training standards. If you’ve got 30 guys on the pitch at the same time going at each other, it means you have to be on it, so it’s a big boost having them back in. They’re obviously experienced guys.”
Gray has not played since injuring his bicep while playing for Scotland against Wales in the opening weekend of the Six Nations on February 3. Jones and Turner have been out since Scotland’s final game of the championship against Ireland on March 16, having been laid low by hand and foot injuries, respectively.
Glasgow have coped pretty well in their absence, rising to the top of the URC standings, but they were knocked off their perch in round 17. The 44-21 defeat in Johannesburg against a Lions team who overcame one red card and two yellows was a sore one for all connected with the Warriors but Murchie has warned the team’s detractors that it would be foolhardy to write them off, even if they have to play away from home in the latter stages of the play-offs in their quest to win the URC.
“I can tell you the group was hurting after the game, big time,” he said. “We have to use the learning that we’ve taken from that game and put them into action, firstly this Friday. I think maybe from the outside people have written the script about how they expect things to pan out. But ultimately we get to determine how our season pans out. Whether we’re home, whether we’re away, we still get the opportunity to go and show what we can do and get a result, wherever we go.
“We got what we got against the Lions. We got handed a lesson and we have to take it. But regardless of where we have to go, whether it’s home or away, the objectives aren’t going to change.”
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