Fagerson up for Heineken Champions Cup battle

• 14 Nov 2019

He may still only be 23, but Glasgow Warriors prop Zander Fagerson is expecting another tough challenge as he prepares for his fourth Heineken Champions Cup campaign.

The Scotland tighthead has come a long way since his first appearance in the Champions Cup against Northampton Saints back in 2015, with Fagerson relishing the return of Europe’s premier club competition.

“We’re massively up for it,” said the front-rower.

“Nobody comes into this competition thinking they’re going to struggle. Last year we were delighted to get to the quarter-finals, but we came up short on the day.

“It’s a great competition, and we’re chuffed to be a part of it once again.”

A Sale Sharks squad featuring former Warriors winger Byron McGuigan will provide Dave Rennie’s men with their first test in this season’s competition, as the English outfit make their first appearance in Europe’s top tier since the 2016/17 season.

“Sale are a big physical pack – the Premiership sides pride themselves on that,” said Fagerson.

“We’re going to have some powerful players running at us on Saturday, and they love the set-piece. It’s going to be a real battle up front, but it’s a battle we’re up for.”

With consecutive
bonus-point victories against the Southern Kings and Zebre sending the Warriors
into European action in the best possible style, the Warrior Nation are eagerly
anticipating another barnstorming Champions Cup campaign. Fagerson, however, is
only focused on Saturday’s match at Scotstoun.

“It’s going
to be a tough group, so we’re taking each game as it comes,” he said.

“Last year
we played some great rugby but let ourselves down in the quarter-final, though,
so the last eight is our target this year again.

“We’ve had
two good performances, but we know there are parts of the game we can improve
on.

“I’m excited
by the potential of this group, though, and we want to kick on and make a
statement in Europe.”

There are fewer than 40 tickets remaining for Saturday’s clash with Sale Sharks – to secure your seat, click here