Horne extends his Warriors contract ahead of clash with one-time master

Glasgow Warriors George Horne agrees a new two-year deal with the club. Pic: SRU/SNS Ross MacDonald

When George Horne, who has just signed a new two-year deal with the club, first arrived at Scotstoun, Henry Pyrgos was in the driving seat with a PRO12 title to his name and a clutch of Scotland caps.

Having only recently made the switch from No 10 to No 9, of which more later, Horne learned his scrum-half skills with the help of the older man before turning the tables and, along with Ali Price, nudging Pyrgos, pictured, out of the Warriors’ door and along the M8 to join Edinburgh.

Pyrgos will almost certainly start for Edinburgh and, after sitting out last Saturday’s rain-sodden victory at Scotstoun, Horne Jnr is favourite to do the same for the Warriors come Saturday.

“It will be different playing against someone who was at the club last year,” says the younger brother of fellow Warriors back Peter. “It will be strange for him and us but we’ll just focus on ourselves and try and put in a decent performance to get a win.

“I looked up to Henry a lot. He was a great player for the club. He won a championship and played a lot of times for Scotland so he was someone I tried to pick his brain and learn as much as I could from. Having him here for a few years was great for our development and it’s great to see him doing so well at Edinburgh.”

Pyrgos’ move to Edinburgh has worked well professionally. Already this year he has enjoyed eight league starts compared to the five he earned all last season at Glasgow.

He is a very different type of player to Horne, and one who probably suits Edinburgh’s forward-oriented game plan a bit better. He can’t do what Horne can, but few manage the game better than Pyrgos so it will be instructive to see him play against Horne, especially if the Scottish winter stays wild and wet.

If Pyrgos acts as Richard Cockerill’s on-field analyst, Horne is a crackerjack who explodes into action at any minute. He’s the sort of player that the fans love because he makes things happen. Exciting to watch, quick and committed, his train of thought is usually three steps ahead of the opposition and two ahead of some of his  team-mates.

He scored one try and created another for Adam Ashe against Lyon in France. Horne would probably have claimed a second touchdown himself had Nick Grigg passed to him on the right, rather than left to brother Peter, after a superlative break from deep inside his own half.

The younger Horne already has four caps to his name and you fancy he will add plenty to that number, which is good going for anyone let alone someone who only took up the position a few years back.

“I was a ten all the way through school, and my first year at under 20s I played a couple of games at stand-off and then moved to scrum-half in the second year so that’s three or four seasons now I have been playing scrum-half,” he notes.

“It is a lot different, at ten there was a lot of pressure on decision-making and running the team, whereas at nine it is about the basic skills of passing off the deck and box kicking skills that I am still getting to grips with now.

“I think I got moved to nine for a couple of games because of injuries, for the under 20s, for the first time I played scrum-half, they kinda went, yeah, that’s where your future is, at nine.”

Horne used to kick off the tee for Glasgow Hawks, and pretty well by all accounts. But he dismisses any thoughts of elbowing his way in front of Adam Hastings or even his own brother Peter, who are making a decent fist of things.

But might he be tempted to do an occasional shift in the No 10 shirt, a little like Greig Laidlaw, another hero of his, does on occasion for Clermont?

“Not really,” Horne replies, perhaps wary of stepping onto his brother’s turf.

“I would be more than happy to, I still would enjoy it. I have had a couple of shifts on the wing but in terms of ten, nah, I think scrum-half is my main position.

“I can play other positions but that is only really in dire need if there are injuries. It’s not like I am trying to be a versatile player, I am just focusing on being a scrum-half.”