Seymour ready to dazzle under Friday night lights

There’s nothing quite like a Friday night at Scotstoun.

Don’t just
take our word for it, though – that’s the view of a British and Irish Lion, no
less.

“Scotstoun
is a fantastic place to play,” grins Tommy Seymour.

“Every
player loves playing at home, but I truly believe we’ve got something special
at Scotstoun.

“The changes
that the club has seen have been well documented by the guys that have been
here for a long time, both in terms of venue and increased attendances. It’s an
amazing atmosphere.”

Seymour and
his fellow Warriors will make their return to Guinness PRO14 action tomorrow evening,
with the visit of Zebre heralding the end of a month-long break from
competitive action. It’s been a break that the former Scotland winger believes
will allow Dave Rennie’s side to kick on in their pursuit of a place in the
2019/20 Guinness PRO14 Final Series.

“I think the
break has been a benefit to us, for sure,” said Seymour.

“It’s come
around at a nice point in the season – we had a lot of games on the bounce, so
it allowed the guys who are going to be contributing a lot over the next couple
of months to get some time off and get their head away from the game a bit. It’s
allowed us to refocus going into what’s going to be a big part of the season
for us.

“The guys
came back in last week for some fitness testing and everyone performed really
well, and we’ve come back in this week with a real intensity and focus about
ourselves. We want to get back out there in front of a packed Scotstoun and
show the fans what we can do.”

Indeed, the
Warriors will be defending an unbeaten record in 2020 when they step out onto
the pitch under the Friday night lights. An entertaining win over Benetton at
the start of January preceded a brace of Heineken Champions Cup thrillers, with
the pulsating draw with Exeter Chiefs at Scotstoun followed by the dominant
45-7 win away to Sale Sharks.

“We’ve
stepped our game up over the last few matches,” explained Seymour

“We feel
like we’ve sharpened things up and on our return after Christmas we started to
produce some really good rugby. We know that we’re capable of doing that, but
we weren’t perhaps exhibiting that as much as we’d have liked in the first part
of the season.

“We pride
ourselves on scoring tries and the guys have been going out there and doing
just that. We want to keep that momentum going and carry that form into the
second half of the season.”

First on the
agenda for Seymour and company, though, is the visit of Zebre, with the flyer having
been selected on the wing by Rennie and his coaching staff. With the Warrior
Nation set to turn out in force for the club’s first home Guinness PRO14 fixture
of the new decade, the winger and his team-mates are determined to make it a
memorable occasion.

“The level
of commitment that the supporters show is incredible – even on the coldest of
nights they come out and are as vocal as always!” laughed
Seymour.

“It’s a huge
honour to run out in front of them every time I’m selected, and the guys can’t
wait to get out there tomorrow night.”