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What Fagerson respected most about Rennie when he coached Glasgow
Matt Fagerson can see the freedom to play instilled by his former Glasgow coach Dave Rennie in Australia, who next take on Scotland. Fagerson will come face to face with his former mentor on Sunday when Australia visit BT Murrayfield on the back of a five-match winning run which has seen them score an average of 30 points per game and the back-rower can see Rennie’s influence in the Wallabies.
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“They love to play from deep and they are pretty brutal in the contact and clear-out, and they have some brilliant tacklers as well,” Fagerson said. “Dave was a brilliant coach, you played before you kicked, he bred that into the whole squad.
“You can see little bits but he has clearly taken on Australia and he is doing an amazing job. It’s great to see. He has put his own spin on where he wants them to go. They won’t be afraid to play, that was a massive thing for him.
“We played Exeter at home one year and scored two from our own five-metre line because that was the way he wanted us to play. We came out on top by about 20 points. They will be trying to play expansive rugby and keep the ball in hand.”
Fagerson made his Warriors debut under current Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend in September 2016 but got his first professional contract 13 months later after the arrival of Rennie. The 23-year-old said: “I am very fond of Dave, I thought he was a great coach and he was really, really good with me.
TEAM NEWS: 3?? uncapped props called up, two from the Premiership and another from a Welsh URC region#AutumnNationsSeries #Scotland #SCOvAUS
https://t.co/d5ru5RtVjj— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 2, 2021
“One of biggest things I took from Dave was his player management to me personally. If I was playing poorly, he would tell me but equally, if I was playing well, he would tell me that. We had some really good honest discussions about things to work on, things I was doing well, why he was picking me, why I missed out on that game. That was something I really respected about him.
“In terms of things that really stuck with me, my footwork was probably a big thing for him. Something he really liked in a back row, who is meant to be steam-rolling heavy cannon straight at boys, he quite liked the fact I could get soft shoulders here and there.”
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Rennie left Scotland last summer but the pandemic prematurely ended his Warriors career. Since then, Fagerson has established himself as a regular Scotland starter but showing Rennie how he has developed on the mark is not the forward’s focus of the reunion. “It’s not so much a motivation,” he said. “It will just be really good to play against a team he is coaching and get a catch-up with him after the game because it has been a long time and I have a lot of respect for Dave.”
The game is set to be the No8’s first against Australia. “It will be amazing,” he said. “I remember watching the tour when they went to Australia and I remember being at Murrayfield when we played them last as well. So it will be special to play against them if selected.
“They come off the back of winning five games in a row, they beat the world champions twice and Japan as well, who are playing some good rugby. They are developing as a team so it will be a massive challenge for us but one we are looking forward to.
“We need to trust in our systems, in the last couple of Six Nations we have had a really good defence. If we trust our systems we will hopefully come away with a good result. But we have a lot of attacking threats, players all over the park with some great individual talent. If we pull all that together, it will be a pretty good occasion.”
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We look at Scotland's clash with Australia this weekend, where Gregor Townsend will be seeking to extend his great record against the Wallabies. #AutumnNationsSeries #SCOvAUShttps://t.co/bLJw9iLyBX
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 1, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Bell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
13 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
13 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to comments