Harley gearing up for Ulster trip

• 5 Sep 2019

He might be in his tenth pre-season with the club and have 212 appearances to his name, but Rob Harley is still as eager as ever to return to match-day action.

Thankfully,
the 29-year-old doesn’t have much longer to wait, as he and his Glasgow
Warriors team-mates open their pre-season account against Ulster in Belfast
this Saturday.

Harley’s
anticipation is a feeling echoed throughout the squad, as final preparations
continue for the first hit-out of the new campaign.

“It’s
exciting to be back in game week,” said the Glasgow flanker.

“I think the
whole squad has been itching to get back out there – it’s always nice to get to
the end of a season and decompress a bit, but since we’ve come back into
pre-season we’ve been building towards getting back and ready to go.

“I can’t
wait.”

Saturday’s
match will also be the first chance for supporters to watch their team in
action in the brand-new Macron kit for 2019/20 – kits that have the approval of
the club’s most-capped player.

“I wouldn’t
say I’m the most qualified in the squad to be discussing fashion choices –
Paddy Kelly looks like a model in [the new kit],” quipped Harley.

“I really
like both kits. The away shirt is a bit different to what we’ve had in the last
few years, with the light blue stripes – it looks really sharp.

“I’m really
looking forward to wearing them on matchday.”

With a
return to Scotstoun for The Famous Grouse Pre-Season Challenge just over a week
away, the Warrior Nation is beginning to look ahead to the new Guinness PRO14
campaign. Harley insists that the primary focus remains on the upcoming
pre-season tests, however, with the squad well aware of the quality Ulster has
to offer.

“I’ve missed
running out at Scotstoun, and it’s exciting to think that it’s not that long
until we’re back out in front of our fans,” he said.

“Long-term,
our goal is definitely to go one step better than last year, but our focus
right now is solely on the Ulster games.

“We fly out
to South Africa for a huge match to start the new season [against the Toyota
Cheetahs on Friday 27 September], so we want to be ready for that when it comes
around.

“We’re ready
to get out there and put in a good performance in Belfast.”