International stars keen for return to Scotstoun – Murray

Glasgow Warriors assistant coach Kenny Murray says the club’s returning internationals are itching to get back to business for the club, as the squad prepares to return to Scotstoun to face the Isuzu Southern Kings on Friday night.

Having been
rested following their Rugby World Cup exertions, a host of Scotland squad
members will be available for selection for the first time this season as the
Warriors return to Glasgow for their first home match in three weeks.

“Some of the
international boys trained last week, and some more have come back in this week,”
confirmed Murray.

“We’ve got
guys like the Horne brothers, George Turner and Adam Hastings who will come back
into contention this weekend, and then another group of guys who had a lot of
game time out in Japan that will come back in next week.”

Indeed, Glasgow’s
longest-serving coach underlined the eagerness with which the club’s
international stars have returned following their break.

“The guys
coming back in have been desperately keen to be back in and get back out there,”
said Murray.

“Some of the
guys who aren’t available for another week like Sam Johnson are already back in
doing a bit of work with us, and guys like DTH and Adam [Hastings] were in
training last week despite not being involved. They’re really eager to get back
out there in a Glasgow shirt.”

The Warriors
will be looking to return to winning ways on Friday night, with the Kings
making their first visit to Scotstoun since 2017. Despite a winless start to
the campaign thus far, Murray is under no illusions as to both the improvements
required from the Warriors and the challenge posed by the men from Port
Elizabeth.

“I’ve been
doing a lot of work previewing the Kings, and their attack has been excellent
this season,” said Murray.

“They’ve
scored 10 tries already this year, and they attack well off the lineout. They
scored 30-odd points at the weekend, so we know it’ll be a tough game.

“We’re going
to have to be at our best defensively, because they carry a lot of threats
across the park.

“We’re not
looking for any excuses about guys being away at the World Cup or anything – we
didn’t play as well as we needed to on Saturday, simple as that. We want to put
that right this week.”