Zander Fagerson may be a proud Scot but the Glasgow Warriors prop is delighted to be getting the chance to learn to play like an All Black.
Following Edinburgh rival Willem Nel’s departure from the squad after breaking his arm during last weekend’s win over Samoa the 21-year-old tighthead looks certain to be named in the Scotland starting line-up for Saturday’s meeting with the world’s number one side and he acknowledged that among their attributes is the way their front five forwards can handle the ball.
It makes an obvious difference to a team’s overall capacity to challenge opponents if those traditionally selected as set-piece specialists can contribute in that way and Fagerson noted that the arrival of New Zealander Dave Rennie at Scotstoun has encouraged Glasgow’s big men to embrace that approach.
“We’ve got a Kiwi coach, don’t we? He’s got a standard of all front fives being able to catch and pass with both hands,” he pointed out
“If they can do it we can do it. It’s been a breath of fresh air having him at Glasgow, making sure we’re working on our skills and stuff.”
“He’s definitely brought (an attitude that) it’s not acceptable as a front five just to scrum and maul. You’ve got to get your hands on ball.
If you drop a ball in training you’ve got to do 20, 30 passes after training to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“I think that’s good for the club and good for the country as well. In this day and age if you can be a ball-player as well as doing the hard yards, it’s only going to be an advantage for you and for the team.”
Having previously worked at Glasgow under current Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, Fagerson reckoned that Rennie’s philosophy is complementing what the national team is looking to do.
“I think Gregor’s style as well is quite like that,” he observed.
“He likes an expansive game of rugby and he likes to get the ball through the hands and play a wide, fast-tempo game.”
He is consequently eager to test out some of the subtler skills he and his colleagues have been looking to develop against those who are considered to be the best in the game.
“I’m looking forward to it, yeah. I’ve not come up against them before, so it’ll be a new challenge and training’s been going well,” said Fagerson.
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