Scott Hastings' nephew makes 'voluntary commitment' to play for Glasgow amid fears his aunt may have died

Glasgow head coach Franco Smith sought assurances from Adam Hastings that he was in the right frame of mind to play on Saturday evening despite growing concerns that his aunt may have died.

Jenny Hastings, wife of former Scotland star Scott, has not been seen since Tuesday evening when she disappeared after going wild swimming at Wardie Bay in Edinburgh. The coastguard, RNLI, police and helicopters were all involved in an extensive search for the 60-year-old who has struggled with depression throughout her life.

Smith revealed he spoke to Hastings about his missing aunt before selecting him for the home pre-season match against Connacht for what will be the fly-half’s first appearance since returning to the club from Gloucester in the summer.

Adam Hastings during a Glasgow Warriors training session at Scotstoun Stadium on Monday. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

He said: “I’m a person for people because that is obviously the thing that comes first. We would have not played him or involved him if it wasn't through his voluntary commitment. We obviously had a discussion and he is 100 percent fine to play.

“He acknowledges that it's a difficult period but that it shouldn't influence what he needs to do on the weekend, so we're appreciative of that.”

Hastings has struggled with injuries over the last few years but Smith has told the Scotland international to focus on the future rather than the past.

“I've never worked with him before and I haven’t really followed his career so closely,” added the South African. “I know of him having prepped against him maybe once or twice when he was much younger.

“I also advised him, as I advise everybody, that we will draw a line beyond what's happened. It's about what's going to happen. It’s not about what has happened previously in his career. There is no new pressure, no new expectation.

“It’s about him running out there and becoming the best rugby player he can be. I hope that he has completely reset his approach, that he's got rid of all previous injuries or fears of injury. I don’t want him to carry any burden into this.

“We just want to give him an opportunity to become better and he must contribute. That is what I advise my children who are also playing those types of roles: you play for the team. I hope he will play on Saturday with no expectations - just coming to contribute.”

This is Warriors’ first home match since winning the United Rugby Championship in June but Smith, while wanting to win, made clear the outcome mattered far less than getting the squad ready for their league opener against Ulster in a fortnight.

As well as Hastings fellow new signing Rory Sutherland also starts, while there are first appearances of the season for Jack Dempsey, Stafford McDowall, Kyle Rowe and Jamie Dobie.

“Can you remember the result of last year's warm-up games?” asked Smith rhetorically. “That doesn't count. I’m not really interested in what's happening in the two games as long as we progress and as long as we get better at what we do.

“It's a long season. It’s going to be hard on the bodies and we need to have everybody right and ready. So I'm not worried about the results. Yes, we want to win. Nobody here has ever played not to win, but we need to get people ready.”