Warriors marching in right direction despite stumbles

Rugby reporter

Friday 14 September 2012

If alarm bells have been hard-wired into Glasgow Warriors' gleaming new home at Scotstoun Stadium, Dougie Hall is in no hurry to reach for the big red buttons just yet.

Dougie Hall believes that Glasgow have struggled at times due to the extent of the turnover at the club during the summer.

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Alasdair Reid

After the successes of last season, when the Warriors reached the play-off stage of the RaboDirect PRO12, fans of the club have had little to celebrate as their side have opened the new league campaign with back-to-back defeats by Ulster and Scarlets. However, the message from Hall is that they should keep the faith as the team are very close to finding their feet again.

Ahead of this evening's encounter with the Ospreys in Swansea's Liberty Stadium, the hooker made the point that it was at exactly the same ground in last season's corresponding fixture that the Warriors unveiled their true potential, their 28-26 win only hinting at how good a performance they put in. Now, the 32-year-old international forward believes that another display of that order could be on the cards."The overall feeling is still really good, really positive," said Hall. "We're making great strides forward, but it's just not quite clicked yet. We're doing a lot of things really well and some of our attack has been brilliant, but then we turn the ball over. It has really cost us so far, and that's incredibly frustrating from a player's point of view."It's down to decision-making on the day, down to individuals making the right decisions. And probably about having the trust to think that you don't have to score at this stage, maybe if you hold on to it you will score the next phase. "But I wouldn't want to say there's a lack of trust in our attack. We are two games into the season and it just hasn't clicked yet. I think there are a lot of things to be really confident about. I'm excited to see where it gets to when we get that head of steam up."And yet the worry among Warriors fans must be that the longer things don't quite happen on the pitch, the more frustrated the players will become. Hall argues that the team must learn to bide its time, but patience is the sort of virtue more easily acquired by a winning side. However, he also concedes that sweeping changes in the playing and coaching staff mean that this part of the season has been a familiarisation period as much as anything else."Part of it is us as players, and as combinations, getting to know and read each other better," he said. "Once you start getting combinations like centres and back rows who have played a lot together, they get that wee bit faster mentally. I don't think it's something were far away from doing."This is an element of every season. Quite often it's at the start of the season, but it can be halfway through the season when maybe a partnership gets broken up and all of a sudden it's just not quite as smooth as it was, not quite as well aligned. It takes a bit of time and a bit of getting used to."We're frustrated as well. Everyone has the hope that you will pick up exactly where you finished the season before, but there have been changes in our team and changes in the coaching, and sometimes it just takes a bit of time to work through that and learn how we all play together again. "What you have to remember is that we are still an incredibly talented team and, perhaps more importantly, quite a young team. We've got young guys in key positions. But there's a lot of promising stuff happening, and we'll get there."Hall takes his place in the side for tonight's game after it was confirmed that Pat MacArthur has suffered a foot injury that is likely to keep him out of action for the next three months. Rob Harley could also be out for six to eight weeks with a knee ligament problem. Although Harley's injury is unquestionably a blow, there was relief around the Warriors' camp that the damage is not of the season-ending variety. Ed Kalman, meanwhile, is another who will be missing for three months following surgery on a back problem.Harley's absence means another reshuffle for the Glasgow back row, with Chris Fusaro coming in on the openside flank and John Barclay moving across to take the blindside berth he has recently filled on international duty. Ryan Wilson is at No.8, and will be keen to put in an impressive shift given the imminent arrival of South African powerhouse Josh Strauss.The Ospreys, reigning PRO12 champions, have lost their first two matches as well, but Hall is confident the Warriors can edge the battle of two desperate sides. "If we just got 50% of the opportunities we've created, we would be killing teams," Hall said. "If we can just put a few things in line, we'll blow a team out of the water."

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Warriors marching in right direction despite stumbles

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