Chris Fusaro out to prove short fuse a thing of the past

In a tetchy match, Ross Ford of Edinburgh and Richie Gray of Glasgow were sin-binned before the tension boiled over into a flurry of fists in the final minutes. The two culprits were Glasgow’s replacement flanker Chris Fusaro and Edinburgh lock Scott MacLeod, who were both shown red cards for their involvement in the unseemly fracas.

MacLeod has now departed Edinburgh to try his hand in Japan, but Fusaro is in the Glasgow team this week, having edged his way ahead of Scotland star John Barclay in the pecking order for this crucial match.

“It wasn’t my proudest moment but it shows the intensity and the passion which both teams bring to these derby games,” he said, when asked about the sending off.

“It was quite frustrating last year when I was mostly on the bench and only getting five or ten minutes at the end of games, and it was one of those games where the atmosphere is so charged that it doesn’t take much for things to bubble over.

“But it is definitely a lesson learned. Hopefully it won’t happen again. I won’t be looking to start a fight again – it was pretty foolish. It’s a fine line between being aggressive but not going over the top. This will be a good chance to redeem myself.”

To both players’ credit, they shook hands as they trooped off the pitch – and although that might not mitigate the evils of violent play it was warming to see that rugby’s core values have survived even the most dehumanising aspects of professionalisation.

“When I was coming through the academy and training with Edinburgh, Scott was one of my mates. We cleared the air very quickly, which was good,” said Fusaro. “It was probably my mum who made it hardest for me. She was fuming, especially because it was live on TV. She was ashamed. I did feel like I’d let my family down, but I’ve put it behind me and learned my lesson.” The 22-year-old is understandably keen to draw a line under the experience, and it is clear that head coach Sean Lineen is happy to let sleeping dogs lie. After impressing for Glasgow at the start of the season, while Barclay was away at the World Cup with Scotland, the youngster has been handed the number seven jersey ahead of Barclay for two crucial matches in recent weeks, against Montpellier in the Heineken Cup a fortnight ago (although that appearance was cut short by a head knock), and against Edinburgh tomorrow afternoon.

“I’ve learned a lot from John. He’s a hugely experienced player and it just shows the depth we’ve got in the squad that we can be interchanged,” said Fusaro. “When the internationals were away at the World Cup the rest of us got our chance and we took it, so when they came back there was a lot of competition for places and that is very healthy for the squad.

“I’ve got a lot more confidence than last season but I know I just have to keep my feet on the ground, keep focusing on one game at a time, and let everything else take care of itself.”

It was not so long ago that Barclay and Johnnie Beattie were the great young hopes of Glasgow’s back-row, yet neither has made it into the starting 15. Barclay is on the bench, while Beattie (who is carrying a knee knock but was fit to play if required) has been left out of the squad altogether.

Ryan Wilson seems to be the coming man at No 8. Rob Harley, at 21, might be the youngest of the back-row triumvirate, but with a full season at Glasgow under his belt, he is the most experienced breakaway in the side.