Allan reflects on first block of pre-season

Alex Allan believes that the squad is in a good place at the end of the first block of pre-season training, following a week-long camp in Aberdeen.

With 90
appearances in a Glasgow Warriors shirt, the 27-year-old is one of the more
experienced members of a squad currently without a number of players as they
challenge for Rugby World Cup selection.

Yet the prop
believes that the new arrivals to Scotstoun have each contributed to creating a
strong environment within the Warriors dressing room.

“It’s been a
tough three weeks, but a hugely enjoyable three weeks,” said Allan.

“I feel like
we’ve come together as a group, which will give us a good platform for the next
block of training and on into the new season.

“Everyone’s
dug in and helped each other out. The new boys have all worked hard and got
involved – half the time they’re the ones helping me out as opposed to the
other way round!”

The road to
Aberdeen was by far a straightforward drive up the motorway from Scotstoun; a
series of challenges devised by the Glasgow coaching staff provided its own
unique set of hurdles for the squad to overcome, competing against each other
for the inter-squad bragging rights.

“We left
early on Tuesday morning,” explained Allan.

“We were
split into four clans and each clan had to go to six rugby clubs and three
castles on the way to Aberdeen, as well as having to make an advert for a
lunchtime coffee shop and re-enacting a scene from a movie – D’arcy [Rae] did
very well on that one!

“There was
also the Stump Challenge – it was a relay where each person had to run out to a
cricket stump, spin round it 10 times and then run back as best they could.

“The catch
was that it had to be on a beach at the water’s edge, so there were a lot of
boys falling into the water on the way back. It was tougher than it looked!”

The players
are now set to enjoy a well-earned week off ahead of the next block of
pre-season training, with less than 50 days until the start of the Guinness
PRO14 campaign. Whilst wanting to improve on last season’s runners-up finish,
Allan insists the squad will be taking it one match at a time.

“Everyone
knows we want to go one better than last year,” he said.

“There’s a
lot of hunger in the squad, but all we’ve spoken about is getting off to a
winning start.

“There are a
lot of players who are going to be away at the World Cup, and it’s crucial that
we get off to a good start in that period where the boys are away in Japan.”

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