Forget the defeat to Toulon and the latest instalment of the Heineken Cup campaign against Exeter Chiefs on Sunday.
There are far more pressing issues for the Glasgow Warriors players to deal with. "There was a queue for the shower and I couldn't get in," reported Dougie Hall with a smile as he parked himself down in front of the assembled scribblers after putting in a sweaty shift on the training pitch.
Hall and his Warriors team-mates certainly found themselves in hot water during that torrid first half against the reigning European champions on France's south coast last weekend. The Exeter encounter is an opportunity for redemption, though. Come Sunday night, they may be showered with plaudits. The matches are coming thick and fast for Glasgow and, despite the 51-28 reversal in Toulon, the expectations, both among the players and the paying punters in the stands, continue to rise. The next episode of the Heineken Cup series at Scotstoun will be standing room only. All of the 5200 seats have been sold and the Warriors are heading for their biggest crowd of the season. With this kind of boisterous backing, Hall is eager to add fuel to the growing enthusiasm in this neck of the rugby woods.
"Scotstoun has been fabulous this year and the expectations that are on us now means that we have to perform in every game and challenge in every game," said the hooker who has earned more than 40 caps for his country. "That's great, but the other side of that is that when you don't perform people will want answers as to why not. Heads will roll in that sense and I'm sure there will be changes in the team. And so there should be. This squad is too good for guys to get away with not playing well.
"That's how professional rugby should be. This is the top event in Europe. It is exciting and it's a fresh challenge for players, competing against the best. We now have the support that adds to the atmosphere and gives it that sense of occasion on top of the fact you're playing against quality sides."
As an experienced campaigner, Hall has been around the block more times than a Monopoly board's top hat. "Are you calling me old?" he asked with a chortle. His qualities are well known and the Dingwall-born player is relishing this latest chapter of a memorable 11-year professional career.
"You forget the lows and remember the highs," reflected Hall. "At hooker you have to have a goldfish mentality and run with the positive outcomes and move forward. The last few years have been brilliant to be part of Glasgow. These have been my best years in pro rugby in terms of the feel of the squad and the feeling of knowing that you should be up at the top of the table."
Back in the 2003/2004 season, Hall, who began life as a pro in Glasgow before moving along the M8 to Auld Reekie, was part of Frank Hadden's Edinburgh side which became the first Scottish club to reach the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup. Hall is eager to emulate, and even better, that particular crusade. "It's having that experience of knowing you can do it," he added. "Back then, Edinburgh did it with five wins out of six, so there's no reason why we [Glasgow] can't qualify.
"We have to get as much out of the remaining games as we can. We lost our first game but we went out there [to Toulon] to win. We honestly believed, and I still believe, that if we'd performed how we should have, then we could have won over there. The feeling in the squad was great going into it and that made it even more difficult to understand why it went so badly wrong in the first half. We got a point, so it wasn't a complete write-off. Let's not read too much into it. We're a good side and we just need to go out and put it right this weekend."
Against a confident Exeter outfit, Hall is under no illusions about the stern task awaiting the Warriors. "Surprise, surprise, there's another quality side in the Heineken Cup," he said. "Having watched them so far, they have guys who, potentially, will be star internationalists. There's no reason why some of them can't be playing for England. We can't afford to under-estimate them."
And with that warning, Hall trotted off for an overdue shower.
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