Duncan Weir on competition at Glasgow Warriors and why civic reception is so important

Duncan Weir is closer to the end of his career than the beginning and is determined to grasp every opportunity that comes his way in what is developing into a glorious Indian summer for him at Glasgow Warriors.

The stand-off is embarking on his 16th season in professional rugby and there is plenty more he wants to contribute to his hometown club.

Weir, 33, occupies a unique place in Glasgow Warriors’ history as the only player to be involved in the Pro14 winning campaign of 2014-15 and last season’s stunning United Rugby Championship triumph.

Duncan Weir roars in celebration during the United Rugby Championship final win over the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on June 22,. (Photo by Anton Geyser/SNS Group)

He spent five years away from Glasgow in between those landmark successes, playing for Edinburgh and Worcester, before returning to Scotstoun in summer 2021. He may not play as regularly as he did during his first spell at the club but he still feels valued, still believes he can contribute and still retains the hunger required to go again in this most brutal of sports.

As with any other close season, there has been turnover in the squad, including in Weir’s position. Adam Hastings is back at Glasgow after three seasons with Gloucester and Ross Thompson has left to join Edinburgh. Tom Jordan has been Glasgow’s first choice fly-half since Franco Smith arrived as head coach two years ago but can also play at centre and started at 12 in Saturday’s pre-season defeat by Zebre. For Weir, nothing changes. He will vie with the other two for the 10 jersey and if he’s not selected he will continue to do all he can to help the team.

“I know Adam's come in and Ross has left,” he said. “I'm pals with Adam, I've known him for a couple of years. I've been in Scotland camps with him. He's another quality player in the mix. I know he's had a couple of bad years of a run of injuries. He's obviously come in here fully fit now, so I'm sure he's wanting to hit the ground running.

“Nothing changes for me. I'll try and grasp every opportunity that comes my way. I'm still hungry and determined to play as many minutes as possible. Even if that's coming off the bench, I'll do whatever I can to get the team over the line. If that's training against them during the week and making sure the levels of the opposition plays and training sessions are as high as possible for the team to be in a better place come the weekend, then I'm more than happy to do that.”

Glasgow Warriors' Richie Gray and Duncan Weir with the URC trophy after the win over the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld. (Photo by Anton Geyser/SNS Group)

Weir signed a new two-year contract in May, vindication that he remains an important part of head coach Smith’s plans. Just how highly regarded he is was illustrated by his selection in the matchday 23 for the URC grand final against the Bulls in June. Having played so well off the bench in the league match against the same opponents a month earlier, Weir got the nod over Thompson as replacement 10 for the final. He never got on but played his part over the course of the season and believes he can contribute again in the forthcoming URC campaign which begins for Glasgow with an away game against Ulster on September 21.

“I'm big enough and ugly enough to have these so-called awkward conversations with coaches,” he said. “I'm still fully determined to play my best rugby. I feel good physically. I don't feel like, that football saying, you're losing your legs. I still feel really good physically. I feel like I'm in a really good place with the coaches as well. I've got a good relationship with them all. I feel valued at the club, even if it is to take that role of not being selected and pushing standards at training.

“If that's the case, then I know that Franco and the other coaches are really valuing my input. If that's my job for the week, equally if they give me the licence to go and start a game, I know that they still fully back me. It's hugely exciting. It's going to be a great year. It will be good.”

The success of last season put the club on the map and their achievement will be formally recognised by the city of Glasgow on Wednesday when a civic reception is held in their honour in the City Chambers in George Square.

“It's really nice to get that recognition outside the rugby community,” said Weir. “It's definitely nice of them to put it on for us. It shows that more sports should get recognised. Obviously football is our national sport and our biggest sport. It's a really cool thing that we're doing the civic reception.”

Glasgow’s preparations continue with their second and final pre-season match at home to Connacht on Saturday. They will then have a free weekend before the URC opener in Belfast. Weir thinks the success of last season will make them targets this time around but takes confidence from the way they overcame the Stormers, Munster and the Bulls in their three play-off matches.

“We're obviously going to be the biggest scalp of every team's calendar - knocking off the champions,” said the 30-times capped stand-off. “I think for us, we know what it took to get those wins. Especially Munster and even the Stormers here. That was a tight game until about 60 minutes when we managed to break through and score. We know the dark place that you need to go to. It showed in the nature that we went and won the championship. For me, it's probably just having that confidence that we can go and do it. When everything's in a good place with our systems and our structures. The sheer physicality level that we went to is a benchmark of where we want to kick on this season.”