Supporters are back at the inter-city derby for the first time in a couple of years and the Glasgow flanker knows the players must tread a fine line. Scotstoun is expected to be busy and noisy and Harley has warned his team-mates that they mustn’t allow the emotions of the crowd to overly influence their actions on the field of play.
While the fixture might be denuded to an extent by the absence of the Scotland players who are in Dublin on Six Nations duty, there is still plenty of spice.
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Hide Ad“The occasion of it, the Glasgow versus Edinburgh derby, makes it huge,” said Harley, who is Glasgow’s record appearance holder. “You talk about getting under people’s skin and the tension is a little bit higher. The pressure is higher than normal games.
“You might see that sometimes spill over. Both teams will be looking to bring as much aggression as possible, but also to control that in the right way. That’s the challenge.
“It’s easy in these games to let the occasion get to you and for it to spill over the top. But you have to use all that aggression and make sure you use it in the right way.
“Even with the crowd, it’s a different level of noise and energy. Having the experience of being there a lot over the years certainly helps.
“It’s important to try and impart some of that experience and knowledge on to the new players during the week in the build-up to the game.”
Harley said the recruits from overseas have quickly cottoned on and have been told in no uncertain terms that civic pride is on the line on Friday.
“Yeah, they get it,” said Harley. “That’s been a strength of ours that we’ve built that cohesion in the squad. The new guys coming in from overseas, they buy into it really quickly and they get it.
“When we play against Edinburgh, we’re representing the city of Glasgow. Anyone who is lucky enough to pull on the jersey knows they are fighting for the city.”