Morrison out to put World Cup form dip behind him

Scotland centre Graeme Morrison is itching to get back into action for Glasgow tonight after admitting that he suffered “a dip” in form at the wrong time in the World Cup, and now has work to do to push himself back into the international frame.

The experienced internationalist will make his 150th appearance for Glasgow at Firhill against the Ospreys, who currently lead the RaboDirect Pro12 with six wins from six. He is keen to ensure he fits in seamlessly to a side that has won four games from its opening six and currently sits in fifth spot.

Having lost his place in the Scotland side to Sean Lamont, he knows he has work to do to regain his standing in the minds at least of the Scotland selectors, but has been here before and knows that winning performances with his club holds the key to that.

“The whole World Cup was up and down,” he acknowledged. “To not play in that England game was tough to take but the way that Andy [Robinson, head coach] was looking at taking it one game at a time meant that Sean and Joe [Ansbro] were the combination he wanted for that game.

“I have no problems with that, though there was personal disappointment. I didn’t particularly play well against Argentina so… it was a fair call.

“We [Lamont and I] are similar players but he does offer different things. He has got great pace and can take the ball up really hard. Certainly the way he played against England in the Six Nations was very good and that is something that they wanted to get out of him in that game. He posed England a lot of trouble.

“People have dips in the way they play and, unfortunately, mine came at the wrong time. It is a matter of getting back here and getting on with these guys which is where it all started for me and where I enjoy playing my rugby. It is a case of working hard and getting back to the way I know I can play.”

Part of Morrison’s success has come from his ability to hold ball in tight traffic, his powerful physique and quick feet allowing him to off-load in contact and put team-mates into gaps. That has been at the heart of Robinson’s drive to make Scotland a threat in attack, but the switch to Lamont came after Morrison struggled to make any headway in attack and suffered a rare defensive blip in the lead-up to the Pumas’ match-winning try. The centre is confident that Glasgow can help him bounce back.

“The stats don’t lie – we [Scotland] struggled to score tries. In two of the games we played in appalling conditions but that is a minor excuse because it has been a concern for a couple of seasons,” he added.

“We certainly have the players in the back line capable of scoring points: Max Evans is a world-class finisher, very hard to tackle, and Sean Lamont and Nick De Luca are very explosive. It is a bit of a monkey on our shoulder at the moment and psychologically we are certainly aware of it. We are great in training but we need to turn it into points on the pitch by crossing the line. It will come. We just have to have the belief that we can do it.

“We are certainly capable of scoring tries at Glasgow. We beat Cardiff by quite a lot of points down there and scored four tries, and have an exciting set of players in the back line who have done a very good job while the World Cup players were away.

“I’m actually the only outside back to come back in so now it is a case of me trying to fit in seamlessly. The guys around me in the back line have been talking me through what we are doing, and now I need to bring a level of experience to the side.”

The Ospreys’ Wales stars have another week off after playing in the World Cup bronze medal match only a week ago, and the Warriors are eyeing the opportunity to topple the side setting the pace at the top on home ground.

Swansea-born Eli Walker, just 19, makes his first Pro 12 start on the wing, and Samoan stars George Stowers and Kahn Fotuali’i, who were signed in the summer, will make their Ospreys debuts if they come off the bench.

Morrison added: “Coming back from the World Cup we are in a good position. People would look at the young side we put out and probably wouldn’t have said that we would be sitting fifth in the table right now.

“It very positive and the guys coming back are determined to help moving back up the table.”

Glasgow also announced yesterday that the successful Hearts and Balls charity, which supports seriously injured rugby players around the world, is to be one of its nominated charities for the next two years.