Glasgow need a trophy to earn respect says Horne

The centre yesterday urged his team-mates to keep winning as the only way to earn much needed respect for Scottish rugby.

“Until we get over the line and win something, until we put our hand up and win a competition and win a trophy, we are going to struggle to get the respect we want and we believe we deserve,” said Horne ahead of tonight’s play-off semi-final against Ulster at Scotstoun. “We are desperate this weekend. It would be massive for us finally to win something.”

But, even being the best in the Pro12 is not the limit of Horne’s ambition. The Fifer revealed that head coach Gregor Townsend and the rest of the Warriors’ squad are aiming to become the best in Europe and, if that sounds a little fanciful, it worth pointing out that Glasgow are not too far off that mark.

The Eurorugby table lists every top-class professional club in Europe and awards marks for every game. Three-times European winners Toulon occupy the top spot but, Horne points out, Glasgow are higher than you might imagine.

“It’s great coming into this environment, where Gregor and the coaches are desperate for us to be the best team in Europe,” he said. “Although we’ve not got over the line yet – I think we’re down in fifth at the moment – it’s always something we’re working towards.”

For now, though, Horne and the rest of the Warriors will be focusing on Ulster. “You have seen us at our best in the last half-hour against Ulster [in the league last Saturday] and the first half-hour against Leinster and Cardiff. We can blow teams away and it’s just about doing that for the whole 80 minutes. Big games like these can be decided on one slip, one lack of concentration, one bounce of a ball.”