Momentum key for McDonald

Glasgow Warriors second-row Kiran McDonald is hoping to continue his early season form this weekend, as the club prepares to return to Guinness PRO14 action against the Dragons this weekend.

The
25-year-old has impressed fans and pundits alike with his displays so far this
campaign, including a barnstorming display in the 17-13 victory over Cardiff
Blues in his side’s last outing that saw him receive a rapturous ovation from
the Warrior Nation.

“It was such
an amazing feeling to come off to that ovation against Cardiff,” grinned
McDonald.

“You don’t
really think about it until after the game, though – you’re looking back at
your game, thinking about what you need to fix and so on. I certainly felt like
I put in a good shift, though, and I loved it.”

The former
Fosroc Scottish Rugby Academy player is in his second spell at the club, having
re-signed with the Warriors ahead of the 2017/18 campaign after a stint with
Hull RFC. Whilst constantly battling for selection in a position stacked with
internationals, McDonald is more than happy to continue to push his case.

“I was a bit
unlucky with injuries when I was here the first time and didn’t get
re-contracted, so moved down south to Hull,” he explained.

“Whilst I
was down at Hull, I got the call from my agent saying I’d been lucky enough to
be signed by Glasgow, which was my first professional contract. The leap from
Hull to the professional environment was pretty big! The depth, the quality,
the intensity – it was a huge learning curve for me.

“At a club
like this, there’s such a high calibre of players right across the pitch. When
I came back from injury last year, guys like Jonny Gray, Scott Cummings and Tim
Swinson were all in really good form so I couldn’t break into the team. That
was fair enough, because those guys had been playing well week in, week out, so
no complaints from me.

“If you
perform well and train well, though, then the coaches will be looking at you
more seriously every week. Scotty’s a bit of a role model for me – I’ve known
him for a long time, and if I can get into the same position as he has in such
a short space of time, that’d be amazing.”

McDonald and
his fellow Warriors will be making the trip to Newport this weekend, with the
Dragons lying in wait at Rodney Parade on Saturday. The second-rower is
confident that the squad can continue to build on the victory over the Blues,
however, as they go in search of a first away victory of the season.

“It’s been a
good couple of weeks for us,” said McDonald.

“We
obviously got the win last time out, so that gives us a bit of momentum going
into the Dragons match.

“Dragons are
going to be a tough outfit – they always are. They bring a lot of line speed
and physicality, a lot of intensity around the breakdown and we know that we
need to keep our set-piece standards high.

“We’ll be
focused on keeping hold of the ball and doing the basics well, and bringing our
own grit and determination too.

“As for me
personally, I just want to keep my own momentum going, continue to do the
basics well and keep getting the chance to start.”