Harley returns to Italy with appetite for revenge not yet fully sated

Senior Sports Writer

Saturday 27 October 2012

As well as being warmed by a spot of winter sunshine, Rob Harley is looking forward to tasting a dish best served cold in Treviso this evening, and he does not mean a tomato and mozzarella salad.

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KEVIN FERRIE

The Glasgow Warriors flanker was in the team that made up for last season's home defeat at the hands of the Italian side by winning at the Stadio Monigo to help clinch their place in last season's RaboDirect Pro12 play-offs.

He has not, though, forgotten the way these opponents took the shine off one of his, and his team's, greatest performances a week after they had claimed the first win by a Warriors side in Dublin."I was captain last year when Treviso came to Firhill and beat us, so there's a bit of personal revenge to get by winning over there," Harley said. That had been a landmark for Treviso – their first away win in the league which, Harley believes, provided evidence of the growing quality of the competition."It was a demonstration of the improvements they have made and we know now that, every week, teams are going to come at us," he said. "The league is very, very tight."Harley's first start since he suffered knee ligament damage in the first game of the season comes too late to make a case for Scotland selection for the man who may have saved the job of the Scotland head coach Andy Robinson by marking his Test debut with a last-ditch, match-winning try in Samoa in June.Robinson has said he has only selected a squad for the opening autumn Test against the All Blacks and could bring other players in for the subsequent meetings with South Africa and Tonga, but Harley will not allow himself to be distracted by such considerations."I was pretty realistic about [not being included], knowing I've not had the game time to challenge when the standard among the back row is very high," he said. "I'll not really be thinking about that. I'll be concentrating fully on what I can do for Glasgow and, if we get wins in the next two weeks, we'll put ourselves in the best possible position."Harley was talking about the club's league placing as they aim to improve on third spot, but a reminder of how quickly things can change on the international scene was provided this week with the inclusion of so many of his colleagues in Robinson's squad.Among them were five uncapped players in Alex Dunbar, Peter Horne, Peter Murchie, Henry Pyrgos and Tommy Seymour who, like the flanker, were just beginning to make their names while the World Cup squad was in New Zealand last year and he is delighted for them. "It was good to see a number of our backs getting into the squad," Harley said. "It's exciting and I think the guys are being rewarded for their performances."Glasgow have won their last four PRO12 matches, two of them on the road, in Swansea and Cardiff. While Harley enjoyed his first taste of playing at Scotstoun as a replacement against Ulster in the Heineken Cup last weekend, he is not heartbroken to be travelling again."Obviously it is a huge advantage to be at home – when I came on last week, I felt the crowd were really boosting our efforts with the noise they were making – but the good thing about heading for Italy this week is that it was below freezing in Glasgow this morning so we can look forward to the conditions over there."

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Harley returns to Italy with appetite for revenge not yet fully sated

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