London Scottish are well into the business half of the season and facing the challenges that come with being so deep into the year. Missing 12 frontline players out injured, dealing with short turnarounds between games and knowing that every point matters at this point in the season. We sat down with Head Coach Joe Gray to discuss it all and the visit of Worcester tomorrow night.
“Managing injuries is tough, we haven’t got the biggest squad in the world and rely on keeping boys fit as well as sprinkling in a bit of stardust from Harlequins with the relationship we have there. In this block we’ve picked up some substantial injuries in key areas as well and some smaller ones which have caused us issues.
We also knew in this block with the Six Nations going on and Prem Cup that what we would get on loan would be diminished such is the pressure on Harlequins’ squad. We planned as much as we could but sometimes the cards fall in the worst possible way and that’s what’s happened.
However, I’m super proud of the squad and the way they’ve reacted to the challenge. We haven’t made excuses and we are not going to. Players are potentially going to have to play out of position or have minimal prep into games, as is the case this week, but we have to embrace that and enjoy the challenge.”
Speaking of the visit of Worcester and the prospect of Friday Night Lights at the RAG Joe Gray has said “Friday nights are always awesome at the RAG we get a noisy support of everyone starting their weekend early and it’s a great place to be. It’s a real boost for us knowing we are going to have a partisan crowd and also playing in that environment.
Worcester are a great team and their position in the league show’s that. The way they have come back into the league and slotted straight in shows the togetherness they have but we know we can cause them problems.
They are a side that likes to throw it about and excite, we need to try and take that away from them by not being loose or feeding them. It’s easier said then done but if we do that then we can cause some real problems.”
Worcester carry the ball the most of any team in the Champ this season with over 2000 carries across the league so far. Scottish, however, opt for a more kick heavy strategy mean it is likely to be a clash of styles on Friday night, who come’s out on top remains to be seen. Join the Pride on Friday night by getting your tickets below.
