Matt Fagerson admits he was disappointed at not starting more matches for Scotland at the World Cup and knows there can be no guarantees of gametime either now he’s back with Glasgow Warriors.
The back-rower featured in all four games in France but started only one, the 84-0 thrashing of Romania in which he scored a try, although he played more than half of the Tonga match after captain Jamie Ritchie got injured.
Fagerson admits to harbouring regrets at not being on from the start more often but felt his first World Cup had been an overall positive experience.
“I probably got less [gametime than expected] as I wanted to be starting,” he admitted. “That was probably the biggest thing going into the World Cup.
“That was the goal that I had set myself so that was frustrating from that point of view.
“Jamie pulled up with a couple of injuries so I probably then got more game time than I’d expected coming off the bench.
“But overall it was an awesome experience and a great team to be a part of including all the staff and coaches. It was just disappointing that we didn’t achieve the goal that we went out there with.
“In terms of experience it was awesome and the French crowds were amazing. The family got to come out, my fiancée came out for nearly every game, so it was amazing to have her in the stands watching.”
All of Glasgow’s internationals have now returned to full training following their post-World Cup break, with number eight Jack Dempsey set to feature for the first time against Ulster after recovering from a wrist injury.
Warriors take on Munster next weekend before beginning their Champions Cup campaign and then returning to the URC for the derby double-header with Edinburgh.
And Fagerson knows Franco Smith will rotate regularly during that period – and that not everyone will get the chance to play.
He added: “Franco is very good at squad rotation and getting everybody contributing. The great thing is, no matter who you are, if you’re picked for the team then you know what your role is. We had that last year in our European games.
“The squad got mixed up a little bit and the boys put in some big performances in Bath and Perpignan that led us into our long run in Europe. Everyone wants to be involved. We’ve got four or five massive games coming up and we’re all pretty excited for it.”
