The glass-half-full types among Glasgow Warriors' supporters have no doubt spent the past few days relishing the memory of the thrilling, three-try blitz that gave their side a 19-0 lead against reigning champions Leinster in last weekend's Guinness PRO12 opener at Scotstoun.
By the same token, the glass-half-empty faction will surely have passed the same time in doleful consideration of the Leinster comeback that allowed the Irish side to move one point ahead, 20-19, a couple of minutes before the end.
Yesterday, asked which group he belonged to, Gregor Townsend produced a sidestep as elegant as any he contrived in his days as an international fly-half, declaring that his focus had been on the final seconds,when his players found the strength of character to churn their way upfield, pile pressure on their Leinster opponents, and allow Stuart Hogg to snatch a 22-20 victory with the very last kick of the game.
Hogg's contribution restored his place in the affections of Warriors fans who perhaps doubted his loyalties last season, but it was not enough to get him back into the starting line-up for tomorrow's clash with Cardiff Blues at the Arms Park. However, Townsend explained that the full-back, who was actually being used as the replacement fly-half last weekend, was merely continuing the extended pre-season rest period he was due before an injury crisis demanded his premature return against Leinster.
"It was great that he was available," said the coach of Hogg, who earned a lengthier break than others on account of his involvement in all four of Scotland's summer Tests, "but really we were thinking of him for round three, round four. Stuart will probably be available next week."
So, too, might Al Kellock, who is due to turn out for Glasgow Hawks in today's BT Premiership match with Gala at Netherdale. The Warriors captain has been in full training for a fortnight and the suggestion is that he needs only to demonstrate a decent level of stamina to get back in the squad for Glasgow's trip to Newport to take on the Dragons in a week's time.
"We will see," said Townsend, who added that Warriors assistant coach Kenny Murray will be in Galashiels to keep tabs on Kellock's performance. "He has trained really well. He has done full contact for the past two weeks. For Al, this week will be about seeing how long he can go and it will be a good test for him. If he comes through that then he will be available for selection the following week."
Glasgow could certainly use Kellock's leadership skills in Cardiff tomorrow. Losing their lead against Leinster had much to do with the disruption they suffered through a series of injury-enforced changes, but they should still have been able to cope with that crisis. They coughed up two late and avoidable tries with defensive errors, and, for all that Townsend was right to praise their mental strength, they were still immesely fortunate to get over the line with their noses in front.
Still, even the ugliest wins put points in the league table's right-most column and nobody will be dwelling on how they got there when this season reaches its business end. Of more importance will be the general pattern of a team's performances, and Townsend will be happy if his players can again demonstrate the strength away from home that was one of the overarching themes of last season's performances.
As he observed, though, Cardiff is an especially difficult destination on account of the Blues' artificial pitch. In general terms, Townsend is enthusiastic about such surfaces, but he conceded that Cardiff enjoy a particular advantage hosting opponents who struggle to cope with the novelty of it all.
"The first time we played there [when they lost in last season's Heineken Cup] we probably let the pitch dictate how we played," he explained. "It is very different and I think you do get a big advantage being the home team because you are used to playing on it."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article