Murray ready for whatever lies in store

• 25 Sep 2020

As with most things in 2020, pre-season has been a bit different for Glasgow Warriors this year.

Just three
and a half weeks after their final match of last season, preparations are well
underway for the opening match of the 2020/21 campaign. Where there were
previously blocks of training across a 12-week period, there is now a short,
sharp turnaround ahead of next weekend’s trip to Connacht as the new season gets
ever closer.

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Yet for the
longest-serving member of the Glasgow Warriors coaching staff, the detail in
the preparation remains the same regardless of the turnaround.

“This mini
pre-season has given us an opportunity to reinforce a lot of those messages,”
said Kenny Murray.

“When Danny
[Wilson] came in for the build-up to those Edinburgh games, he was clear about
what he was looking for in terms of game plan and his expectations. He hasn’t
waited to give clarity on that to both players and coaches, so that’s been
good.

“It’s just
too difficult in the current situation to play any outside opposition in
friendlies, but obviously we have enough players at the moment for us to do 15
on 15 here. We’ve been doing specific contact sessions when we have been going
bone on bone, though. We did a bit of that last week and this week, and that
has been great for trying to replicate that game environment and physicality.”

The 2020/21
Guinness PRO14 fixture list, released earlier this week, has already thrown up
a few eye-catching fixtures for fans across the league. For the Warriors, a
first foray into Monday night rugby against Leinster at Scotstoun at the
beginning of November is one of a handful of prime-time encounters, something
that Murray and the coaching team are already preparing for.

“It’s a bit
of a different season this year,” admitted the Glasgow assistant coach.

“We’ve
already sat down to talk about how each game week will look and there’s so many
more things to think about now. TV are playing a big role in determining when
we play and quite rightly, we need TV to support rugby.

“It will be
challenging in terms of travel too, as it’ll be something different for us to
deal with. We need to be flexible, though. It’s a different way of working but
an essential way of working.”

With both
the concluding fixtures of the Guinness Six Nations and the new Autumn Nations
Cup on the cards over the next few months, Glasgow’s international contingent are
once again likely to be pulling on their respective national jerseys when
called upon.

However,
with a host of young talents coming through the ranks at Scotstoun, Murray
believes that the club is in good shape as next weekend’s clash begins to come
into full focus.

“I think it
was 2018/19 where we got 20 points during the international windows,” he said.

“That was
excellent. It showed how well the guys we had here played during those windows
and the depth we have.

“We’ll get
guys back from Scotland as well, that’s been something we’ve had a good
relationship with Scotland in previous years. We need to trust the guys we’ve
got who will be playing here, too.

“We’ve got
young guys coming through like Jamie Dobie, Stafford McDowall, Robbie Nairn and
guys like that, and we need to trust them and help them perform during the
windows.

“We’re just
getting on with the task in hand.”

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