Fagerson unfazed by “strange pre-season”

• 9 Sep 2020

“It’s been a strange pre-season, for sure!”

Matt
Fagerson laughs when he’s asked how his pre-season break has been, a reflection
of the unique nature of 2020 so far. Having just completed his fourth campaign
with the club, what would normally be a three-month off-season has been condensed
into a five-week window as preparations gather pace ahead of the scheduled
start of 2020/21.

A week off
for the 22-year-old and his squad mates preceded a return to training this
week, with the back-rower able to reflect and recharge after last month’s
double-header.

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“I managed
to see the family – my little sister is still off school, and my little brother
is just about to start university,” said Fagerson.

“It was nice
to be able to meet up with them outdoors, and have a bit of time to switch off
and recharge.”

“It’s been
good to have that break, too. We obviously didn’t get the win in the first game
against Edinburgh, but the performance and the result in the second game was much
better. The boys are excited to be coming back in now, developing our structure
and getting to grips with the wee tweaks we’re making before the new season
starts.”

Whilst defeat
in the opening match of rugby’s return to Scotland ultimately saw the 1872 Cup
evade Glasgow’s grasp, a 15-3 victory over Edinburgh at BT Murrayfield just six
days later gave the Warrior Nation a reason to be smiling come the end of the
2019/20 season.

For Fagerson,
the win not only ended the previous campaign on a positive note, but also
provides the squad with a platform from which to kick on into pre-season.

“The cohesion
we showed in the second game was really pleasing for us,” said the back-rower.

“Players on
both sides were going to be a bit rusty in the first game, but what let us down
was we just got out-worked in various areas of the game.

“The second
game saw us really come together – the boys worked hard, and you saw that in
the lineout, the scrum, across the field really. That was the most satisfying
thing to see, and to keep Edinburgh from crossing the try-line and break their streak
was quite nice too.

“For us now,
it’s about building and making sure we’re ready to hit the ground running at
the start of the new season.”

The
condensed pre-season will see new Head Coach Danny Wilson continue to work with
his squad ahead of his first full season in charge with the club, alongside
fellow summer arrivals Jonny Bell and Kelly Brown. It’s a group that Fagerson
feels will have the Warriors firing on all cylinders for the new campaign.

“I’ve worked
with Danny a little bit with the Scotland setup, and he’s very good to work
with,” he said.

“He’s very
detailed, especially around the lineout – you could see the work that he’s
done, along with guys like Richie [Gray], Scott [Cummings] and Rob [Harley],
paying dividends in that second game in particular.

“Tommy
[Seymour]’s spoken a lot about Jonny [Bell] and how much he rates him too, and the
knowledge Jonny brings is clear to see. All of the new guys have slotted in
really well, and it’s a very exciting coaching group to work with.”

There’s a
further factor that Fagerson believes could stand the club in good stead ahead
of the new campaign; whilst the COVID-19-enforced suspension of rugby worldwide
put paid to any summer tours that had been planned, having a full squad training
as one at Scotstoun is an unexpected upside.

“Throughout
the season you’ll have a lot of boys going away, whether that’s for summer
tours, Six Nations camps or so on, so it’s actually been a long time since we’ve
had the full squad together for a pre-season,” explained Fagerson.

“Everyone’s
together and learning the plays, and we can feed off each other. When you come
to the big games, you sometimes don’t get that many chances to train all
together to be honest.

“It’s been
really good to have everyone in at Scotstoun and working towards the start of
the new season – we’re all excited to get back out there again.”

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— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) September 4, 2020