Gregor Townsend’s Glasgow Warriors waiting in the long grass

It is common in professional sport for the protagonists to talk of nothing but their focus on “the next game”, but this weekend’s clash with Munster has been many years in the planning for Glasgow Warriors’ head coach Gregor Townsend.

It is difficult not to over-analyse the importance of these next two weeks for Scotland’s brightest young coach, but for those outside the country, who have witnessed only the high points in his playing and coaching career, his story to this point is an absorbing one.

He sat in front of the media at Glasgow’s Scotstoun Stadium yesterday, looking out on the artificial pitch he had installed after several years of persuading not only Scottish Rugby but also the Glasgow City Council, leisure trusts Glasgow Life and local athletics officials.