Kicking on: Chris Cusiter and Glasgow are bidding for a RaboDirect Pro12 play-off place this weekend
CHRIS CUSITER will be to the fore of Glasgow’s bid to reach the RaboDirect Pro12 final when they play Leinster at the RDS on Saturday night.
Scotland scrum-half Cusiter, who this season agreed a new three-year deal with Glasgow, will be looking to help the Warriors make the final for the first time and give coach Sean Lineen a fitting send-off before he joins the SRU set-up.
We decided to ask Cusiter, who turns 30 in June, what he likes most about Glasgow – and a few funny moments recently…
You’re staying at Glasgow, are you excited about moving to the new stadium next season?
Scotstoun looks great at the moment as they are setting it up for the IRB 7s (on 5-6 May) and it’s getting me pretty excited. I know it won’t be quite the same for our regular games, but it’s been a fantastic training venue for us over the past two seasons and it will mean everything will be in one place, which is the first time Glasgow Warriors has had that. It feels like home.
Nice view: Loch Lomond
What’s the best thing about living in Glasgow?
The huge choice of cafes and restaurants, particularly in the West End, and definitely the live music. There’s always so much on, from the intimate gigs at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut to the o2 Academy, which is brilliant for larger bands. Some of the scenery close by is spectacular too – out by Loch Lomond for example. Beautiful.
What’s the last thing that made you laugh?
We had our end-of-season awards dinner the other night. Everyone who is leaving had a speech done about them. Our defence coach Gary Mercer, who is a top man, comes out with some belting quotes and there was a list of them read out. I think the best one was: “I don’t know about you boys, but I’m going places. But I’m going nowhere, and you’re coming with me.”
What’s the last thing that made you angry?
Patience is not really my strong point, but the other weekend being the first scrum-half ever – from what I can see – to be penalised for putting hands on the ground before a box kick and getting the defence offside was slightly annoying.
For more of this off-the-wall Q&A with Chris Cusiter, see the July issue of Rugby World, on sale on 6 June.