Sponsors
Next article
Previous article
Got an opinion?
Discuss this article in the comments section or register with the Glasgow Warriors forum.


Advanced search...

October 04, 2008

Andy takes centre stage

Posted by Assistant Editor on October 4, 2008 12:06 PM | No comments | Print | E-mail author

Andy is determined to make his mark against Munster
Andy Henderson returns to the starting Warriors line-up when they face Muster tonight in Thomond Park, and is determined to remind national selectors of what he can do.

Most in Scottish rugby would be glad of witnessing the kind of genuine competition for places that appears to be bubbling in the midfield ahead of the Bank of Scotland Corporate Autumn Test series.

Andy Henderson smiles and agrees that it is healthy for the game, but the 28-year-old is less than enamoured with suggestions that it means his international days might be over.

The 6ft 4in centre earned his 50th cap with the first Test of the year, but has watched the pressure build since then from Nick De Luca and Ben Cairns at Edinburgh and Graeme Morrison and Max Evans under his nose at Glasgow.

The Morrison-Evans combination has proven popular with Sean Lineen, the Glasgow coach, and with Cairns expected to be fully recovered from injury by November, that quartet are the front-runners for the 12 and 13 jerseys against New Zealand, where Frank Hadden's backs adviser is again Lineen.

But Henderson was yesterday thrown an opportunity when he was named to start in his favoured inside centre position for the first time this season, in Glasgow's Magners League clash with Munster tonight.

Colin Gregor has similarly been handed a chance by replacing the rested Dan Parks at stand-off.

It is a big game for Glasgow Warriors, who have started the season brightly, not least in last Friday's scintillating win over the Scarlets, but they have yet to notch successive wins. Andy said: "It is a big game in many ways, but obviously it would be a good one to win.

"Personally, of course, the ultimate goal is to play for Scotland again because I've never retired, but the main focus recently has just been getting back into the Glasgow team – that comes before anything else.

"It's good to get a shot this week and I'm hoping that I can be part of a good team performance. The guys are all working hard and there is good competition, and my response has been to continue working hard and looking to improve my game.

"There has never been any complacency when I was in the Glasgow or Scotland teams; it's just that when you're not in there, opportunities are more limited.

"It's not easy trying to impress coming off the bench, so this is a good chance to remind some people maybe what I can do at this level.

"But, more importantly, it's a chance for the team to get wins back-to-back and show what we are capable of as a whole. The way we played against the Scarlets was exciting last week and we need to continue that."

Full story can be read here.

Comments

Add a comment to this article