Glasgow Warriors background players 'ready to step up' amid punishing new year schedule

Unlike recent seasons, there will be no one-week break after the 1872 Cup double-header against Edinburgh, which saw Warriors triumph at both Hampden and Murrayfield to retain the trophy for a fourth year running.

Instead, Glasgow are immediately back into United Rugby Championship action against Zebre at Scotstoun in their first match of 2026 on Saturday before heading straight into back-to-back Champions Cup clashes away to Clermont Auvergne and home to Saracens.

The relentless fixture card will be sure to test the Warriors squad, but Fagerson has faith in the fringe players who are waiting in the wings for their opportunity.

“Yeah, look, it'll probably be a test of our squad depth," he said. "But I think that's the brilliant thing, that there's boys behind the scenes who maybe aren't playing at the minute.

“I'm trying to pick a few, like Angus Fraser obviously hadn't played in the last three or four weeks, came on and played on Saturday. And I thought he was outstanding. And then guys like Ally Miller who maybe haven't played as much over the last couple of games as well.

“He's in the background raring to go and doing all the line-out stuff behind the scenes as well. So there's guys chomping at the bit, working really hard. And I think that's a great thing, having everyone on the same page, that if boys do get injured or there's rest periods or whatever that may be, there's players there ready to step up.”

Warriors are in the midst of an impressive four-match winning run which included victories over Toulouse and Sale in the Champions Cup followed by home and away wins over Edinburgh.

"I think we showed a lot of heart, especially in the last two or three games," Fagerson added. "When things weren't going our way, we were sticking to the process, sticking to the plan.

“But there's still loads that we can look at, loads that we can improve on. I think that's the exciting part. We've got some great results, but we've still got a few things to get on the same page about.”