Effort visible for all in pre-season

“Our main goal and theme for pre-season is effort – we want the players to work hard and put effort into everything they do to untimely become better players at the end of the block,” Murchie told glasgowwarriors.org.

“The player’s motivation is high and we’re really happy with the way the guys are applying themselves and the effort we are seeing on the pitch is backup by their GPS numbers.

“The ball has been in play since day one and we’ve been working hard on our skills. Pete [Horne] is new into the group and he is really drilling the skills hard and we have been putting the guys under pressure from the off.

‘We’re now mid-way through week two of pre-season and we’re seeing real progression in skills, an increased capacity for players to work hard and be able to stand up to fatigue and execute those skills.

The defence coach praised the squad’s work ethic in the offseason that has allowed the club to immediately hit the ground running.

“We conducted our bronco test last Thursday and the guys produced scores across the board that were better than they were at the end of last pre-season,” he explained.

“We talk about effort, and this shows the work the players have put into themselves during the offseason and that the players are motivated to put in the effort and get better not just when they are in the environment but outside of it as well.”

Another function of pre-season is to allow the squad to bond, integrate new players and grow as a team.

Something that Murchie says is well underway: “We’re really impressed with the way the new guys have integrated in.

“Our player Clan groups have been a real asset and they have already taken them our new boys around the city to help them connect with Glasgow and the area they represent – which is an important part of what we do and who we are.

“This pre-season we’re not restricted by COVID-19 which allows us to spend more time with each other as a group both in Scotstoun and around Glasgow to help us grow closer as a squad and to the people and city we represent every time we take the field.

“It’s exciting to bring a new group together, get that fresh energy and seeing guys working really hard. A pre-season is a time to push hard, be the best version of yourself and if we get everyone improving the team will be in a much better place at the end of the block.”