Scotstoun still out of bounds but Glasgow Warriors insist pre-season disruption 'very minimal'

It will remain in the realms of the hypothetical whether Franco Smith’s side would have fared better had their United Rugby Championship (URC) semi-final against the Bulls been played at Scotstoun rather than Murrayfield but it could only have helped.

That wasn’t an option, however, with Commonwealth Games organisers taking over the stadium at the end of May to start preparations for the summer’s athletics schedule. Warriors, tenants rather than owners of the facility, were turfed out.

The Games have now come and gone but Glasgow still aren’t back in familiar surrounds. That’s to allow for the installation of a new artificial pitch that club staff are confident will be bedded in before their URC home opener against Ulster on October 3.

In the meantime, the squad are training at West of Scotland rugby club in Milngavie, with their only home friendly against Bath on September 18 taking place at Old Anniesland, the home of Glasgow Hawks. It all feels a bit of a muddle but backs coach Scott Forrest insists sufficient steps have been taken to make life easier.

“You don't want to be out of your home, really,” he said. “And Scotstoun is home for us. But at the same time, the disruption has been very minimal.

“The set-up at West of Scotland has been excellent for us. We've got everything we need, we've got the run of the place, so there have been no complaints. The operations team and the strength & conditioning team have done a great job getting things set up and transferring a lot of the gym equipment from Scotstoun over here. The boys have got everything they need. So, to be honest, there are no real complaints.”

The installation of the new pitch is something even Smith, a fastidious micro-manager, can affect but Forrest is confident it will get sorted in time.

“As far as we know (it will be ready for the first game). It's obviously been ripped up now. I think there were a couple of minor repairs on the shock pad or whatever it is underneath, but nothing major. So, as far as we know, everything's on track, which I know the boys are looking forward to - a new track to run out on.”

Warriors have just completed their second week of pre-season, returning somewhat later than their Edinburgh colleagues. Forrest, though, believes it is an approach that works best for the squad.

“Franco doesn't look at it as this is pre-season ahead of a season,” he added. “If you came to watch a session in our second week of pre-season and then the second-to-last week of the season, it's no different.

“A lot of teams that come back in early build themselves up, have skill blocks and do various team-building things. The way we train and our culture is, we don't need to do that. There’s a lot of trust being built between coaches, S&C and the players. They get eight weeks away and then nearly all of them have come back and hit personal bests in the gym and on the pitch.”