Matt Fagerson hopes Glasgow will benefit from injury lay-off

Matt Fagerson won’t celebrate his 21st birthday until July so time is very much on his side, but the back row is not going to use that as an excuse for failing to drive forward with his rugby career as if there is no tomorrow. Rather than look back at satisfaction with what he has achieved so far – three full Scotland caps and key player status at Glasgow Warriors – the forward is frustrated that he hasn’t managed more.

Glasgow Warriors' Matt Fagerson. Picture: SNS

He finished an excellent breakthrough season with Warriors by picking up his first Scotland cap against the USA last June but, on a tough afternoon for the tourists, the teenager lacked his usual composure in a calamitous defeat, and he was not involved when Scotland finished the tour with an impressive victory over Argentina the following Saturday.

He did, however, bounce back impressively when he returned to club colours at the start of the current campaign, with a series of stand-out performances as the side marched to the top of Guinness Pro14 Conference A and laid the foundations for their progress to the last eight in Europe, earning himself the Warriors’ player of the month award for October and a second cap during the final 18 minutes against Wales at the start of the November Test series. He was upgraded to a place in the starting XV the following week against Fiji, only for a nasty dead-leg to curtail his involvement in not only that game but the rest of the series.

Most recently, a persistent shoulder problem ruled him out of contention for the start of the Six Nations. “It was six weeks in total until last weekend,” he explained. “I just caught my shoulder wrong, so it was sort of hanging out and I couldn’t really feel my fingers. They said it was neurapraxia with the nerves in the shoulder, so I just had to wait until they switched back on, and then just rebuild my strength.

“It feels like every time I get an opportunity something happens and I’m back to square one,” he added, with more than a hint of exasperation. “I didn’t have the greatest [international] debut away in the USA, then I get an opportunity against Fiji and I’m off after 20 minutes.

“It has been awesome with Glasgow this year, playing against teams like Saracens and getting such good results in Europe, but it has been pretty frustrating on another level. Coming into the Six Nations and being laid off for six weeks is not ideal.”

The positive view is that his Warriors comeback off the bench against Connacht last weekend has arrived at just the right time to make an impact during the club’s run-in to the end of the season, and maybe even for flagging Scotland during their final two Six Nations match. That’s certainly the way Fagerson, pictured, is looking at it. He may be frustrated but he is not a pessimist.

“It is easy for people to burn out, especially if they are heavily relied upon like Adam Ashe and Rob Harley – spending all week with Scotland and then coming back and putting 80-minute performance in every weekend for Glasgow – it can take its toll on the body,” he reasoned. “So, I looked at it as a good chance to take a break, I had a few problems with my knees, so I could give them a rest and I feel good now coming back into it.”