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Zander Fagerson makes priceless quip about recent hamstring injury
Scotland prop Zander Fagerson will continue to savour every moment of playing alongside his younger brother for club and country. The Glasgow Warriors siblings have been mainstays of the national team for much of the past five years, with 27-year-old Zander having accumulated 55 caps since his debut in 2016 and 24-year-old No8 Matt notching 30 appearances since his bow in dark blue two years later.
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Both are expected to start in Sunday’s high-stakes Guinness Six Nations match against France in Paris, and Zander is adamant he will never take it for granted that he and his brother are able to represent Scotland together.
“It’s a dream come true for me,” he said when asked to reflect on the fact they have both become such integral members of Gregor Townsend’s burgeoning team. “One of my best moments in a Scotland shirt was when he got his first cap in America. It was so special.
“I make sure I enjoy every game I play for Glasgow or Scotland because you never know when it might stop. I’m really lucky and really privileged to be able to play with him.”
The Fagersons have a light-hearted sibling rivalry. In an interview earlier this week, Matt joked that the student had become the master and that he was now offering tips and advice to his older brother, but Zander dismissed any such notion.
“He is getting a bit ahead of himself if he thinks he is the master,” smiled the prop. “He is doing alright. We are quite harsh with each other. We like to bully each other up. If I’m looking to do extras after training I always pick him because I know he is not going to give it to me easy. We try to better ourselves every week. But he’s definitely not the master!”
Zander is delighted at the way Matt has followed in his footsteps and cemented himself in the national team over the past few years. “I’m always really proud of him and it’s great to see him get the plaudits he deserves,” he said. “He’s been doing it for a number of years now.
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“He is doing what I have always seen him do and I’m just really proud of him. I’m making sure he keeps his feet on the ground and making sure he can back it up.”
The elder Fagerson brother’s involvement in the Six Nations with Scotland was in doubt after he suffered a hamstring injury at the start of December. After sitting out the opening Six Nations victory away to England, he was thrown straight back into the starting XV for the recent home win over Wales.
“I was pretty worried at the start with the mechanism of the injury,” he replied when asked if he was always confident he could recover in time to play in the tournament. “I didn’t know I had hamstrings because I usually don’t go fast enough to hurt them! I heard a pop and thought, ‘Oh no, here we go’. It was kind of a rollercoaster.
“At first I felt it was all right but I got my scan and went to see a specialist and he said it looked pretty serious. On a weekly basis, I had little small goals that I kept ticking off. I’m quite an impatient guy so I had those little goals to keep me happy and progressing every week. And here we are now. I was really lucky I had that group around me to keep me going.”
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Fagerson is hoping to enjoy his second victory in successive visits to Paris after the Scots triumphed in a behind-closed-doors match in the French capital two years ago. “We won over there without fans so it will be a bit different having fans back, but that excites me,” he said.
“It is the same sort of personnel with them, same sort of threat all across the park. With the fans back, it will be a different atmosphere but we are definitely up for it. We just have to make sure we can block out the noise and if we stick to our game plan we can get a win.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Hey Finn, Well done to the Junior Wallabies…a win is a win but it was a wet and scrappy game. Would be interesting to hear your opinion on two things from watching the game at the Not So Sunny Coast Stadium. Firstly, what is your opinion on the rule change of being able to call The Mark from a kick off and what is the reason for the change? Secondly, your thoughts on the lack of action for the high tackle on the SA fullback. I understand the TMO ruled that he had fallen into the tackle and the tackler didn’t have time to adjust but it was clearly shoulder on head and the Aussie 11 had not made any attempt to adjust his tackle height leading into the tackle. In my opinion he was never going to get his tackle technique correct to complete a safe tackle. If that tackle was made at a more senior and more scrutinised level would we have seen the same result?
2 Go to commentsI don’t think this has been ventilated enough. Discuss. Perhaps the lesson in all of this is that, in the game of life, one should do all the talking on the field of play. And in the game of rugby, what’s said on the field - stays on the field. Take care of yourselves. And each other.
28 Go to commentsLow skills compared to the Junior ABs. The ball handling and ball retention of the SAns in particular was utterly woeful. The latter will be better on home turf.
2 Go to comments1. Heard this so often over the yrs. One Warriors CEO even claimed future kids wouldnt know which came first, the ABs or the Warriors. Always keen to talk themselves up. 2. That fella Barakat who says he will drop HBHS sponsorship because HBHS quite rightly wants its players to focus on rugby is an odd fit as a sponsor in the first place. As a recruitment official for the Warriors he seems to regard his sponsorship as a paid licence to help to select players from HBHS for the league side. Maybe he should find a league school to fund.
1 Go to commentsNZ U20s are the team to beat this year for sure. And how nice after so long that NZRFU is actually taking this seriously. For far too long they have been sending woefully coached and woefully underprepared teams to the U20 WCs. That Wrampling boy is a star in the making.
2 Go to commentsI agree ..come on keyboard warriors and journalists looking for a cheap win ….. only 2 mins to go 12 points down …this DID NOT decide the game and beside JM was hit after the whistle and in response it was a pat on the back of the head …harmless ….watch soccer if this is your issue
4 Go to commentsRest is for namby pamby sissies, I see. True men should overcome their trifling injuries by playing week in, week out. Bidwell’s stance reminds me of a Jon Gadsby character from the 70s, a rugby captain giving an after-match speech: “It was a very physical contest. One of our players caught a boot on the back of his head in a ruck, and he died, actually. But to his credit, he played on.”
1 Go to commentsI still see nothing in Sotutus play that hes changed his upright running style that failed so many times against decent international defences like the french. Other than that… Iose? Well you have covered his limitations well. If Sititi had been playing the the season… Jacobson? Grace?…Neither shout pick me. So Ardie it is.
1 Go to commentsThere isn’t one element you mentioned there that every top class or successful team gets up to. The great All blacks sides used to play on the ‘fringes or edge’ but it was essentially saying they were doing something illegal or borderline to gain dominance. The fine margins at the top are minute between the top sides. La Rochelle, the crusaders, Saracens, Toulon etc etc…..have all been accused. Get over it, the comment comes across as salty and naive. Northampton as well as they played to get back into the match were thoroughly beaten and controlled for 60 minutes and Leinster have only themselves to blame for kicking it away and hence losing control of the match and being nearly the architects of their own downfall.
2 Go to commentsThere is some talent coming thru thats for sure. The 10 looks special to me. Rico Simpson is a name to look for in the future.
2 Go to commentsI think this quiet honestly is just an innocent misunderstanding by someone who is pig sh*t stupid. Eben is a fine player but by christ, if he can’t understand or get what the Irish players were trying to say to him after the match…..well i hope he has someone looking after his finances, career and is reading the fine print for him, cause life after rugby may be quite difficult for the vacuous echo chamber.
28 Go to commentsIt could be Doris' day!
3 Go to commentsThe whole thing has blown up because Eben’s words have clearly struck a nerve in Ireland. Otherwise they would just laugh it off. I think some former Irish players, commentators and some Irish fans know deep down this Ireland team started to believe its own press and that a certain amount of arrogance had started to creep in during the World Cup. The topic was actually brought up by Irish pundits on Off the Ball recently. It’s fine to be arrogant if you can back it up. Ireland didn’t.
28 Go to comments‘The Irish are good people'. Why is Goode praising a people who hate his own? Wet wipe.
28 Go to commentsLa mejor final que se puede ver en el emisferio norte.
1 Go to commentsA lot of cope from south africans in the comments. Etzebeth is a liar and a hypocrite; you don’t have to defend him!
28 Go to commentsHe got big and really slow for a flyhalf…not sure he’s relevant in a bok conversation anymore
4 Go to commentsBest tourney team vs best team in the regular season for 3 games in RSA - talk is cheap, let’s see what’s what on the tour
28 Go to commentsOne overlooked statistic from their 2016 winning season is the Huricanes are still the only team in Super rugby history not to concede a try during the playoff rounds.
4 Go to commentsThanks for the article, Nick. The Nienaber blitz D does ask a lot of its scrumhalf. I have been watching JGP on D and he often looks like he has mastered what Nienaber asks for better than Faf de Klerk and Cobus Reinach! 🤣 Impressive season by JGP if I must make an understatement.
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