Graeme Morrison aiming to keep Glasgow on right track and erase autumn agony

Published on Friday 18 December 2009 23:25

GRAEME Morrison knows a bit about rugby's great rollercoaster rides to know how talk of new dawns regularly preempt a bumpy dose of realism, but he has also shared in sufficient 'dawns' to recognise the need to make Glasgow's period of rejuvenation last beyond this weekend.

The centre was named by Andy Robinson as one of his three certain starters for the recent Bank of Scotland Corporate autumn Test series, weeks in advance, but exactly halfway through the three games he was jettisoned. The 27-year-old had fumbled a couple of passes in the first half against Australia and Robinson decided to leave him inside at half-time.

Nick De Luca, his Edinburgh rival, took his place for the second half and Scotland duly went on to barricade themselves into their own half and emerge 9-8 victors. The Glasgow player's response was to return to his club and take on a key role in firing his team-mates to wins over Ulster and Gloucester. Tomorrow afternoon, he is intent on helping the side to a first back-to-back scalp of an English Premiership side and help to bury that Murrayfield nightmare further underground.

"That was quite disappointing," he said this week, when asked to recall how he felt at being substituted so early in the Test match, "but it was one of those things. I have looked at it and I can't recall making so many errors in such a short space of time.

"I dropped the ball a couple of times, but I felt I was getting back into it, but they (the coaches] wanted to change it up and I respect their decision. I have done a bit of reflecting since then but I didn't want to dwell on it too long because I had bigger things to do after that.

"I was looking forward to coming back to Glasgow, and was really enthusiastic because the team had been doing well before the autumn Tests. I came back full of confidence regardless of what happened with Scotland and I'm happy now to be here doing well with Glasgow again.

"The Australia game is in the past and, although it was a little disappointing, remember we still won. If I had played that way and we had lost I would still be depressed about it, but one thing I have learned is to quickly forget about things like that – it was not a disaster; I dropped a couple of balls and that is where it ended."

Scotland players may view disappointments, both personal and in a team context, as part of the baggage but few players anywhere in rugby do not experience low points. It is said often that the measure of a player is how he bounces back from them.

Morrison was handed extra responsibility with Scotland as a defence leader in the back line and his appreciation of the importance of having a whole division working in tandem has grown through it. It is a challenge Robinson is putting to players throughout the Scotland set-up, both at Glasgow and Edinburgh, to exiles and to young pretenders yet to appear at full Test level.

The Glasgow centre knows that a double over Gloucester will be significant both in handing his team a huge confidence boost going into home and away games with Edinburgh, but also in thrusting forward the claims of individuals to Six Nations jerseys. Though, he is too grounded to say so. "I felt I learned a lot being with the Scotland squad under Andy Robinson," he said. "I have been in the Scotland squad for quite a long time now and am getting more and more experience. But my aim is, first and foremost, to keep winning with Glasgow because that is what would give myself the opportunity to be in contention for the Six Nations.

"The Heineken Cup is a bigger step up from the (Magners] league and not too much down from international level, especially when you play teams like Gloucester, and it's going to be a pretty ferocious atmosphere, both on and off the pitch, down there.

"But as a rugby player that is the atmosphere you want to play in every week. Everybody in the squad is relishing the opportunity to go out at Kingsholm with 15,000 fanatical supporters behind the other team. The noise and the atmosphere on the day will be great for everyone."

Gloucester coach Bryan Redpath has demanded a reaction from his side to last week's 33-11 loss, and shown his intent by making six changes to the side. He has left out Carlos Spencer and Greg Somerville, the All Black pair who struggled at Firhill, and brought back caps Gareth Delve, Olly Morgan, Tom Voyce, Paul Doran-Jones and Akapusi Qera, the latter's return from injury meaning a shift back to the blindside for Scotland's Alasdair Strokosch.

Morrison will face the physical Kiwi Tim Molenaar for the first time. He is wary, but confident.

"Obviously, it will be a tough encounter," he added, "they will be a wounded animal and we expect all hell to break loose in the game – but that is what we are looking forward to."