GlLASGOW Warriors assistant coach Kenny Murray has backed stand-off Brandon Thomson to bounce back from the disappointment of missing two important kicks from directly in front of the posts in quick succession.
But, he didn’t rule out the possibility of youngster Ross Thompson taking over in the crucial stand-off slot for Friday’s 1872 Cup second-leg clash against Edinburgh at Scotstoun.
Thomson miscued a sitter which cost Warriors an injury-time victory over the Dragons in their last league match before Christmas, and then made the same costly error during the first half of Saturday’s 1872 Cup first-leg defeat to Edinburgh at Murrayfield.
He also threw the loose pass which gifted Edinburgh the game’s decisive try with just over 10 minutes to go.
Thompson replaced Thomson almost immediately after that score and managed to help work Warriors into position for second-row Lewis Bean’s late score, which secured a losing bonus-point. The 21-year-old then added the conversion for good measure, as if to underline that it is not that hard to dissect the posts from that sort of range.
“Brandon is generally a positive guy – he always has a smile on his face – but he knows himself that you can’t be missing kicks like that at the level we play at,” said Murray. “There’s no point trying to kid anyone about that. At the end of the day, he’s got to be better there, and he knows it.
“We were happy with Ross when he came on,” he added. “He did well and he could possibly be in contention for the game as well this weekend.”
First choice stand-off Adam Hastings is currently on the long-term injured list and is leaving the club to join Gloucester at the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Pete Horne – who is principally a centre – has been the deputy No.10 since Hastings became unavailable in mid-October. He missed last week due to a concussion but could return on Friday.
“He did a fair bit in training yesterday, so we’ll have to wait and see what he is like after that,” explained Murray. “Obviously, with head injuries you need to be careful so we will see how he is tomorrow.”
Murray added that loose-head prop Oli Kebble could also return for this game, but it will come to soon for Leone Nakarawa who is recovering from a knee injury.
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