Guest Blogger: A closer look at Zander Fagerson

Guest blogger and Glasgow fan 'The Pen' discusses the potential of Scotland prop Zander Fagerson.

There was a time in Scottish Rugby when world class props were rarer than hens teeth and it got so bad that the SRU had to bring in a South African, wait 3 years for him to qualify through residency and then fast track him into the Dark Blue jersey.

WP Nel has easily been a huge success for both Edinburgh and Scotland but that success has come at a huge price. Nel missed the Autumn Internationals with a neck injury and will now miss the RBS 6 Nations and probably another huge chunk of Edinburgh’s season.

Under normal circumstances, a massive loss to the country but not now. Step forward Zander Fagerson. 21 years old, built like the proverbial brick outhouse and destroying scrums in not just the Pro12 but in the Champions Cup as well.

Take the Warriors last 3 European games against Racing 92, Munster and Leicester. Fagerson didn’t just match the performances of his counterparts, he surpassed them with ease. In the Munster game, Fagerson played for 75 minutes and was still in the ascendency up until the point he made his way off, having left every single piece of effort on the Scotstoun pitch.

Born in Perth in 1996, Fagerson has many hidden talents that people may not be aware of. In 2010 he was Scottish Downhill Mountain Bike Champion and is a qualified lifeguard. He also has quite the voice on him and was part of the National Boys Choir in 2008. So there is a lot more to him that just raw power.

Fagerson played for High School of Dundee at Under-16 level, playing a big part in their victory in the Brewin Dolphin Plate. Furthering his experiencing at Caledonia, the Scotland age grades and at Glasgow Hawks, Fagerson was signed to the Scottish Elite Pro Development Programme in 2014, making his Warriors debut in Italy against Treviso the same year.

If 2014 was a landmark year for the young prop, 2015 was of even greater significance. Asked by Vern Cotter to join his Scotland squad to gain experience, Fagerson was one of the shining lights in the Scotland u20s 6 Nations campaign helping them to gain important victories against Wales and Italy.

Capped for the first time by Cotter in the 2016 Calcutta Cup match against England, Fagerson became the 4^th youngest prop in Scottish Rugby history. He added 3 more caps by playing in all of Scotland’s Autumn Internationals in Nel’s absence and now the scene is set for young Zander to play a vital role in the 2017 6 Nations.

Fagerson is fearless and will not let the thought of playing against the English, French and Irish front rows worry him, mainly because he’s proven his worth against every single one of them. He’s not just a scrummager though, he’s shown himself to be an excellent ball carrier and he’s not too shabby at the breakdown either. He’s also had some good teachers. Along with Nel, Jon Welsh, Gordon Reid, Moray Low, Al Dickinson and Ryan Grant have all been alongside or in competition with Zander and playing and training with guys like this on a regular basis is bound to rub off on a young man making his way in the game.

Fagerson has been handed a real opportunity. With Gatland no doubt looking at the 6 Nations eagerly to pick his tour party for New Zealand and one of his potential tourists missing the full tournament, there is a place on the plane up for grabs and it is very possible that the young prop could take a ticket away from his compatriot. Would he be able to win a place in the side? Possibly not but Zander has proven that at just 21, he can achieve almost anything in a Warriors and Scotland shirt so why not the red of the Lions?

One thing is clear. Fagerson’s stock is most definitely on the rise and it’s only his biking career that was going downhill!

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