It was a busy Six Nations on and off the field for Kyle Steyn, having played an integral part with Scotland while also welcoming a new baby into his family, but he’s not looking for any down time just yet.
The Glasgow Warriors club captain played more games for Scotland during the Six Nations than he has for his club all season.
Steyn only missed Scotland’s defeat to France to be with wife Ally as she gave birth to their daughter Arabella.
READ MORE: Scotland wing Kyle Steyn on adapting to fatherhood
But rather than take time off, Steyn was back with Glasgow on Monday morning and hopes to be involved when they welcome Cardiff to Scotstoun this Friday.
“I’ve only played three games for Glasgow this season,” Steyn said.
"The top of the table is really tight. We’re aware of the fact you really need to be finishing top two otherwise you’re facing a pretty hefty away trip in the semi-final if you get there, but I think we are in a good spot.
“I’m available for selection against Cardiff. That’s a great thing. Friday night at Scotstoun will be pretty good.”
He’s also looking forward to taking on Harlequins in the last 16 of the Champions Cup on April 5.
Steyn added: "I’ve never played Quins, never played down at the Stoop, but I know they are a really good side who play a great brand of rugby, so it will be really good to go toe-to-toe with them on that front.”
The Glasgow captain was speaking after Scotland’s defeat to Ireland in the Six Nations, a match that saw the hosts crowned back-to-back Six Nations champions, while Scotland missed out on the Triple Crown.
For Steyn and his Glasgow colleagues, it was a second painful experience at the Aviva Stadium inside 12 months having lost the Challenge Cup final to Toulon there last May.
He believes there are lessons the Glasgow members of the Scotland squad can take into the remainder of the season.
“I’m sick of seeing trophy presentations on that pitch.
“There are a lot of lessons and a lot of parallels, and that gives you a lot of energy to take some of these learnings back to the group at Glasgow.
“It will be great to be based back at home. I’m looking forward to it.”
Back-to-back away games for Scotland means Steyn has been away from home for most of the past couple of weeks as his wife Ally looks after their daughter Arabella.
Arabella might only be a month old, but she has already given Steyn a new outlook on defeats like the one in Dublin.
He added: “I was a pretty depressed, sulking man when I walked over, but she doesn’t know that and she doesn’t care. You see that and it puts everything else in perspective.”
Steyn said he was proud of Scotland’s defensive performance in Dublin, but admitted individual errors were costly in the 17-13 defeat.
He said: “Last week [against Italy] was really frustrating foe a lot of reasons so I think it was really important for us as a group to be able to bounce back coming to the toughest place in the Six Nations at the moment.
“If we didn’t get it right then it could have gone badly wrong, so we knew that as a group, and we were really keen to bounce back.
“We had a good training week off the back of that, wanting to right those wrongs, and for large part we did that.”
Scotland did not impose themselves as a real attacking threat until Ireland were reduced to 14 men with the yellow card to Harry Byrne late on, but Steyn said that’s part and parcel of playing one of the world’s best sides.
The winger said: “It is Test rugby and we are playing one of the top two sides in the world, so we knew we were going to have to fight for every inch, and that’s where I think the growth in this group is.
“In years gone by, we wouldn’t have been able to adjust and play that gritty game, but today we matched them in every facet on that front.”
He backed up comments by head coach Gregor Townsend that the performance in Dublin shows Scotland have made progress since being hammered by Ireland at the Rugby World Cup.
READ MORE: Scotland still progressing despite Ireland loss, says Gregor Townsend
“At the World Cup, they really blew us away, and even tonight they showed that if you are going to give them that many opportunities, you can fight as hard as you want to keep them out but, eventually, they are going to get on right.
“So [there are] massive signs of improvement. There is still an element that feels like we are beating ourselves a little bit.”
If Steyn and his colleagues can cut out those facets of the game where it feels like they are their own worst enemy when they return to Glasgow duty, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic he could be the one lifting a trophy – rather than having to watch others celebrate a title win – come the end of the season.
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