Fagerson gives Price scare over Lions tour
Scrum-half worries over red card for team-mate
SCOTLAND scrum-half Ali Price admitted his heart was in his mouth worrying about the Lions prospects of team-mate Zander Fagerson as the TV slo-mo created a red cardshaped sword of Damocles above his head on the big screen.
The tighthead may yet have a nervous few hours waiting for the citing report deadline to pass, after his outstretched arm made contact with the head of Dragons scrum-half Gonzalo Bertranou.
The arm was out for protection, rather than to strike, but with the combination of the current climate punishing any high contact, a previous red card against Wales, and the exaggerated effect of slow-motion replays, fellow Lions squad member Price understood better than anyone what was at stake.
It also brought home the tricky balancing act between needing rugby action to keep sharp and challenge for Lions starting sports, against the risk of injury or – in this case – a possible red card ending tour hopes.
So while Glasgow still have a chance of reaching the Rainbow Cup final if they beat Leinster this weekend, it may be that Price and Fagerson have played their last game before joining the Lions training camp.
“Yeah, I’ll be honest, I was worried,” admitted Price when asked about the Fagerson replays. “When you watch those kind of incidents these days, when they slow things down and look at the point of contact...I was starting to get worried for him.
“I know he’s had a red card earlier in the season and they take that into account. I didn’t speak to him on the field when they were making the decision, but I was very aware of it. But it was just a penalty, so it’s all good.
“You’ve just got to focus and play your game. A lot of guys speak about it in terms of trying to avoid injury and all the rest of it. That’s when you’ll get yourself in trouble, if you are half-hearted about
things. Rugby’s rugby, isn’t it? You’ve just got to go out and perform as best you can.
“My focus is the next match I’m playing. I’m not in South Africa yet and not in camp with the Lions. I’ve still got to do my job.”
Price and Fagerson had spent part of last week meeting their Lions colleagues.
“We had a couple of admin days in London during the week and that was the first chance to meet everyone and get some stuff out the way, which was great,” he said.
“Everyone knows of each other but the difference over the next couple of months is that you make bonds with these guys on a personal level.
“Going from the first couple of days it looks like the squad is going to be pretty tight. Everyone is very welcoming and excited to get started.”
Saturday’s bonus-point win was secured with a try in the final minute which was referred to the TMO after Glasgow had already had three tries chalked off after being awarded on the pitch.
One was the Fagerson incident which resulted in a penalty, one was the smallest of knock-ons picked up by the Dragons players and challenged by their captain, one was adjudged to be obstruction even though the “blocked” player was able to tackle his man.
Both coaches, Danny Wilson of Glasgow and Dean Ryan of the Dragons, were unhappy with the way the captain’s challenge slowed the game down even if the final decisions were technically correct.
Wilson was delighted with the way his players fronted up with particular flashes of class in the try finished by Ross Thompson, along with some promising performances by the young players.
“These captain’s challenges are dragging the game out, delaying the game,” Wilson said. “I know I’m bound to say that because we got three tries disallowed, but we were out there for something like two hours. The sooner we move on the better.”