Some 17 years have elapsed since my first disagreement of any consequence with fellow Dundonian Andy Nicol. As he has warmed to his task as a rugby pundit there have been more than a few since, always conducted respectfully and with good humour, but back then he was a statesman-like on-field leader betwixt campaigns that had seen him become rugby’s Billy McNeil as the first British captain to hoist the European Champions Cup overhead and captain of the team that ended Scotland’s barren decade in Calcutta Cup encounters.

Such had been Nicol’s career since he emerged as the enfant terrible of Dundee HSFP rugby, that there had been little reason for discord, but on this occasion he took exception to my observations about his apparent lack of awareness at Welford Road that had Glasgow kicked instead of running a late penalty, it would have given them a potentially crucial advantage over Leicester Tigers in head-to-head encounters in their Heineken Cup pool.

He felt it was unreasonable to suggest he should have calculated on the hoof that, his side having inflicted a 30-17 defeat on Leicester the previous week – the only instance I can recall of the peerless Martin Johnson losing on Scottish soil – a 21-34 deficit meant another score would favour Glasgow in any head-to-head countback.

The real issue was, of course, that he should have been properly briefed in advance, but these were the amateurish early days of Scottish professional rugby and there would be an even more bemused press box exchange with Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times when Edinburgh made an even bigger arithmetical blunder in Dublin the following season.

Nicol’s decision would prove irrelevant - Glasgow and Leicester finishing joint third in that pool - while it was also mitigated by the scale of the progress that had been made since Glasgow’s first ever European Champions Cup campaign had, two seasons earlier, ended with a humbling 90-19 thrashing at Welford Road.

A year later, though, over a coffee shared outside the British & Irish Lions team hotel in Manly, the same Andy Nicol shared his deep concern that suspicions of SRU favouritism of Edinburgh over Glasgow would be confirmed when news of player recruits emerged. He was proved right when Todd Blackadder’s signing by Edinburgh was announced.

Further catastrophic decisions for Glasgow would follow with head coach Richie Dixon’s redeployment to be replaced by the ill-suited Kiwi Searancke, followed by the announcement that financial and playing resources would be diluted once more with the brief resurrection of an unwanted Borders professional team.

Nor was that the last time they would be undermined by officialdom just as they appeared to have made meaningful progress, as demonstrated by the fact that since that quarter-final play-off 19 years ago only once - tellingly in 2011/12 immediately after which there was another change of management - has Glasgow finished in the top half of a European Champions Cup Pool.

I was back in the English Midlands later in 2012 when that squad, that had built up true competitive resilience in the previous two seasons, losing just one of six home matches in Europe and reaching the play-offs in their domestic competition in two of the previous three seasons, in spite of then being one of the least well-funded teams in the competition, charged into a 15-0 lead in Northampton against a vaunted Saints side, only for the decision not to have adequate back cover on the bench to rebound horribly.

Resources have subsequently been ploughed in to the extent that within the context of the domestic Pro12 competition Welsh provinces have voiced their envy, but in Europe Glasgow has reverted to old ways in producing the odd memorable performance while essentially making up the numbers.

We wait to see, then, whether last weekend’s resounding win against Leicester fits, once more, into that category or whether an overdue return on investment is at last to be achieved.

What is indisputable is that the professionalised scale of the modern Glasgow and Scottish Rugby operation is such that further avoidable blunders cannot be countenanced particularly since, as English and French administrators work ever harder to assert their financial muscle, there may never be a better opportunity.

And Another Thing…

It was a privilege to be in Cardiff a decade ago to witness the first European Champions Cup win by a Celtic team in a tournament that involved English teams.

Munster’s win was a turning point in Irish rugby history in particular and no-one did more to bring it about than their captain, Anthony Foley.

His death in Paris last weekend has consequently cast a huge shadow over this season’s European Champions Cup and, in particular, Glasgow’s visit to his province this week.

Just how the emotions will impact upon Saturday’s match is anyone’s guess, but the ideal tribute from both sides will be to offer the sort of commitment that was the mark of a fine player and a great leader.