AS a self-professed scrum bore, Alasdair Dickinson says he is licking his lips in anticipation of Glasgow Warriors kicking off their United Rugby Championship season next Friday night with a trip to Belfast to take on a powerful Ulster outfit, followed by back-to-back home games against the Sharks and the Lions – two of the four South African teams which have been added this year to what was previously called the PRO14. 

The former Scotland prop, who returned north of the Border to become scrum coach at Scotstoun this summer following a rewarding 2020-21 season helping Bristol Bears finish top of the English Premiership table, says he is excited about the raw playing materials at his disposal and has backed a couple of youngsters in Thomas Lambert and Murphy Walker to have big seasons. 

With the addition of the four South African teams, Dickinson believes that the scrum is going to be crucial to the success or failure of every team in the competition, and he has backed the Warriors pack to be able to go toe-to-toe with any side they come up against. 

“The knock-on effect of having a poor scrum is massive, as everyone knows,” he said. “I think in games where scrums are pretty evenly matched, people don’t really see a huge amount of outcome from that, but when you see a team with a really dominant scrum – like South Africa winning the World Cup Final against England in 2019 – it can certainly set the trajectory of the performance and leave the other team clutching at straws. 

“South African teams pride themselves on having a good set-piece, so it is a great challenge for us to go up against these teams, to see where we are at and to have a real go. 

“It is just going to bring the standard of the league up – not just at set-piece but everywhere else – so I think that’s great. 

“I can tell you that the boys are really looking forward to the challenge, especially after speaking to some of the South Africans we’ve got here.” 

“I am a bit of a scrum ‘nause’,” he added. “I think when you have lived and breathed it for 15 years as a player and then go into coaching you can really get into the nitty-gritty and bore other people with your scrum chat. 

“But it is a huge part of the game – especially now because it is difficult to referee it properly and there can be a lot of 50-50 calls, so you really have to get detailed and understand what you are trying to coach and make sure that the players understand. 

“I’m sure it would put a lot of people to sleep, but I find it quite exciting.” 

While Warriors have bolstered their propping options this summer with the recruitment of Scotland internationals Jamie Bhatti and Simon Berghan, Dickinson is hopeful that two emerging front-rows can also play a crucial role in the coming campaign. 

“I worked with Tom Lambert at under-20s,” he explained. “He’s come in, he’s raw and he’s hungry. He’s always keen to do video-analysis and go over his training sessions because he wants to get better and better. 

“Murphy is the same. From what he’s shown in pre-season, he has been excellent. A good kid to work with, really hungry, and keen to learn. 

“They are just young kids, really, so the more exposure they can get and the more time I can work with them, hopefully that gives them the platform to get game-time, which is key for guys at that stage of their career. 

“It’s not just about potential, it is about turning that potential into performances for the club. 

“I think they are definitely part of the future for Scotland.”