interview Bath's World Cup winner Stephen Donald poised to make his European debut in Glasgow, writes Alasdair Reid

Stephen Donald became a national hero in his homeland when he came off the bench at Eden Park and hammered over the kick that gave the All Blacks a critical edge in their 8-7 victory over France.

Before then, however, he had already committed himself to joining Bath and he is expected to arrive at the west country club later this week.

Sir Ian McGeechan, the former Scotland coach who is now director of rugby for Bath, made it clear that the 27-year-old fly-half will be expected to hit the ground running. Realistically, that means Donald’s first outing for his new club will be when Bath come to Glasgow the weekend after next for the opening match in the Heineken Cup.

“You don’t delay the debuts of good players,” said McGeechan. “He’s over at the end of this week and we have to integrate him in so we’ll see how that goes. If we feel he needs more time then we’ll take more time, but if it goes well and we think he’s right then we’ll look to have him there. We will give him a chance to get a full week’s training. Obviously, in a pivotal position you expect him to have all that understanding. We need to get him tactically up to speed with what we’re trying to do.”

As well as kicking the crucial points for the victorious All Blacks, Donald wrote one of the greatest fairytales in World Cup history during the tournament.

The fly-half, first capped in 2008, had originally been left out of the New Zealand squad for the competition, but injuries to Dan Carter and Colin Slade, the two original playmakers, saw him brought in as cover for Aaron Cruden, the third-choice No.10. Cruden suffered a knee injury early in the final, allowing Donald to step in to the breach to make his historic kick.

Speaking at yesterday’s official Heineken Cup launch at Twickenham, McGeechan also suggested that their was no reason to be downcast about Scotland’s World Cup performance after the side failed to reach the knockout stages of the tournament for the first time ever.

McGeechan said: “I think Scotland are in a pretty good place. They’re well organised and going forward. You’ve got to look at what they’re doing and how they’re trying to do it. I think they’re in as good a place as they’ve been for five or six years. There’s a lot of good in there that I hope people will recognise.”

Glasgow were in the same pool as Bath in the 2008-09 season, when they lost both their games against the English side. However, the club have been performing well this season, winning four of their seven RaboDirect PRO12 games, including a 28-17 victory over the previously unbeaten Ospreys at Firhill last Friday.

Now, though, with all the European clubs edging back to full strength as their World Cup players return, the intensity of matches is bound to increase. As well as Bath, Glasgow’s Heineken Cup programme will also pitch them against Leinster, the reigning champions, and Montpellier, the side who finished second in France’s Top 14 competition.

“There’s’ no fear,” said Glasgow coach Sean Lineen, who attended yesterday’s London launch in the company of club captain Al Kellock. “But there’s a huge amount of respect. That’s a pretty strong bunch of contenders.

“But we’re looking forward to it. Our guys have done well in the league and some youngsters have really put their hands up. The first game at home to Bath is a big one.” Lineen’s side have never reached the last eight of the Heineken Cup, and he admitted that to do so this season would represent “a phenomenal achievement”.

Glasgow have made a name for themselves with some notable one-off performances -- beating Toulouse, Biarritz, Gloucester and Wasps in recent years -- but they have never been able to string together the sequence of results that would get them into the tournament’s quarter-finals.

“We’ve got a place in the Heineken Cup and we’ve got to show we deserve to be there, that we’re not just making up numbers,” said Lineen. “We’ve got to improve year on year. It’s really important that we let people know there is ambition there. You’re up against the best teams in Europe. To be able to raise your game consistently is very difficult given the calibre oif opposition. We’ve managed to do it occasionally and I think we’re now a lot more consistent in the leagues.

“This season, there hasn’t been one performance where I can honestly say we haven’t tried. What we want to ensure is that, when we run out against Bath, the people who support us get their due.”

Edinburgh were also represented at yesterday’s Twickenham event by captain Greig Laidlaw and coach Michael Bradley.

The capital outfit have not matched Glasgow’s start to the season, winning just two of their seven games, but Laidlaw said he had faith that things will improve. “It has been very disappointing and frustrating in the league, but there is no reason why we can’t turn it round,” said the scrum-half. “We’re looking really sharp in attack, though our defensive discipline has let us down. If we can take that attacking style into the Heineken and tighten up in defence, then we’ll be fine.”