Glasgow's George Horne wants to earn Scotland starting role

While the match ended in disappointment for Scotland, Horne said it has driven him to add to his five Test starts. 

Horne has established himself as first-choice scrum-half at Scotstoun since Franco Smith's arrival - aided by the departure of fellow Scotland cap Ali Price along the M8 to Edinburgh. 

But with competition from another Scotland cap, Jamie Dobie, plus Ben Afshar and Sean Kennedy, Horne knows he has to be at his best to hold onto his place.

Horne, who returned to the bench for Scotland's trip to Dublin as Ben White reclaimed the number nine shirt, reflected on his own Six Nations experience. 

Horne in action for Scotland during the Six Nations (Image: SNS)

He said: “Everyone wants to be starting but it’s an important role as well, coming off the bench, especially in modern day rugby with all the subs coming on.

“It’s more than half the team. It’s a role I enjoy although I got a taste for starting against Italy and hopefully I can kick on and try to do that more often.

“Starting games definitely helps you. You get into a rhythm, the more minutes you get the better. So it’s been nice getting a few starts but there’s a lot of competition here and good scrum-halves so it keeps everyone on their toes.”

The summer tour of the Americas with Scotland could be an opportunity for him to start more for his country but before that, Horne has a big few months ahead with Glasgow Warriors.

The Scotstoun side travel to London this week to face Harlequins in the last 16 of the Investec Champions Cup while they are well-placed for the play-offs in the URC. 

READ MORE: Harlequins vs Glasgow Warriors: A battle of high scoring sides

The trip to The Stoop offers a different challenge for Glasgow and although Scotland have had a great record against England in the Calcutta Cup recently, Horne says that counts for nothing on club duty.

He added: “We never really talk about it to be honest. It’s always nice to play against teams from other leagues as you don’t get to play them as often. But we never really see it as Scotland vs England.

“It’s been a rapid turnaround from the weekend but these weeks are always special, especially going into knockout games. We’re excited for a big challenge and looking forward to it."

Horne, though, is confident Glasgow have what it takes to progress, but knows they will need to be at their best on Friday evening. 

“We’re always confident. We’ve got the squad of players and the depth that we can challenge any team in Europe hopefully. We’ve got to be at our best, especially going away from home.

Horne's goalkicking has become an important part of his game (Image: SNS)

"It will be tough but our best performance and best preparation will hopefully be good enough.”

Harlequins go into Friday's match having beaten Bath in a thriller on Saturday. The home side were 40-3 ahead at one stage before Finn Russell's side scored 33 unanswered points. 

Central to Quins' success is recently-retired England scrum-half Danny Care, and Horne said he's been doing plenty of research on the veteran, who called time on his international career last week after winning his 100th cap during the Six Nations. 

READ MORE: What Glasgow should fear about free-scoring Harlequins

He continued: “I didn’t see the game but they almost came from way back so it sounds fairly exciting. We’ll get our analysis done and hopefully get an idea of ways to break them down.

“Danny has obviously been around a long time, played a lot of games for Harlequins and England and is a great player.

"He likes to play the game similar to how I do, a lot of attacking kicks and quick taps, things like that. He always plays with a smile on his face which is good to see.”