Matt Fagerson is determined to help several of his Glasgow team-mates enjoy a triumphant farewell as they gear up for their United Rugby Championship semi-final against Bulls at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Warriors won the title two years ago and have high hopes of doing so again, as they know the final would be on Scottish soil – against Leinster or Stormers – if they get past their South African opponents this weekend.
“It would be massive, especially because we’ve got a lot of our talismans leaving,” said back-rower Fagerson, alluding to the fact heroes of the 2024 side like Huw Jones, Johnny Matthews, Jack Dempsey and Jamie Bhatti are departing at the end of the season.
“They were obviously a massive part of our winning run a couple of years ago.
“It would be absolutely massive to win it again with this group. There’s some quality players in here and that’s what everyone’s striving towards.
“For the majority of the boys, that was our first title two years ago and Franco (Smith, head coach) talks about it a lot, that once you get a taste of it – the cigars and whisky, as he calls it – it’s an incredible feeling and it’s something that is never brushed over.
“It’s an incredibly hard competition to win. You’re playing against top, top quality teams, especially at the latter end. The competition has grown and grown over the last four or five years and the South African teams having added so much to it as well so I think to win it again would be incredibly special.”
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Glasgow defeated Bulls in the final in Pretoria two years ago, and Fagerson expects a typically physical encounter in Edinburgh on Saturday.
He said: “It has become a bit of a rivalry, hasn’t it? Probably from the first game that we played them here at Scotstoun, it’s probably set the bar for us physicality-wise.
“That was probably one of the most physical games I’ve ever played in and it’s just the way that they play and the kind of athletes that they are. You have to front up, and if you don’t, it can be a very long day.
“You’ve seen what they do to teams out in the High Veldt. We’ve had some brilliant match-ups over the last two or three years and they’ll be ready to go.
“It’s a great rivalry and it’s a challenge that we’re looking forward to.
“Physicality is a massive part of my game and something I pride myself on, so who better to test yourself against than one of the most physical teams in the league. It’ll be a great ‘man test’. I’m looking forward to that.”
