Fagerson ready for final four

Whilst the intensity and fervour surrounding Saturday’s BKT United Rugby Championship semi-final showdown with Munster continues to rise around the Scottish rugby community, Matt Fagerson embodied the calmness around Scotstoun.

Having been at the heart of last weekend’s 27-10 victory over the DHL Stormers to set up the final four clash, the back-rower – who was named in the Scotland squad for this summer’s tour of the Americas after continuing his sterling form this season – underlined the spirit within the squad heading into this weekend.

“Everyone’s in a good place,” said Fagerson.

“We had a good review session on Monday looking over our own performance from Saturday night, as well as Munster’s win over the Ospreys, and then we were straight back on the horse this week.

“Training has been sharp, focused and intense, and everyone’s putting their hand up to be involved this weekend.”

That isn’t to say that Fagerson and company are unaware of the scale of this weekend’s fixture, however.

With the Warriors gearing up for a first league semi-final since 2019 – and a tenth in total – against their familiar foes, the back-rower underlined the importance of focusing on themselves in preparing for Saturday’s clash.

“You know it’s more than a normal game week, obviously – a semi-final against Munster is one of those games you relish the opportunity to play in,” he said.

“We’ve been big on getting ourselves to the right level emotionally, physical and mentally this week, though, and making sure we’re fully ready for Saturday night.

“Everyone’s ready to rip in after a good, focused week of training.”

Graham Rowntree’s men enter the semi-finals as the top seed remaining, after an unbeaten run that has seen Munster lose just one of their last 11 matches across all competitions.

A serial presence in the knockout stages both in the BKT URC and Investec Champions Cup, Fagerson was quick to praise the Irish outfit for their performances across the campaign to date.

“They’ve had a great season,” he said.

“They had a great tour of South Africa and they’re a team who just consistently go out and get the job done.

“They’re well-drilled and have that real physical edge, and we’re really looking forward to meeting their challenge.”

With almost 20,000 tickets already sold for this weekend’s showdown, the fabled electric Thomond Park atmosphere is set to be crackling at full voltage come 6pm on Saturday night.

It’s a test that Fagerson is ready to meet head-on if given the nod by the coaching team, and the back-rower knows the Scotstoun faithful will make themselves seen and heard in Limerick this weekend.

“It’s such an historic venue and everyone loves playing at Thomond Park,” said Fagerson.

“We know it’s going to be a full-blooded atmosphere on Saturday night with the number of tickets they’ve sold, but we know there’ll be a fair few of the Warrior Nation waving their flags too.

“The support we get on the road always gives us a huge boost, and we can’t wait to see as many of them out there as we can.”