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It is a proper challenge. The screeching pressure, the hard graft, the energy-sapping demands. And all that before Zander Fagerson, father of four kids under seven including 14-month-old twins, heads out for his intense day job with Glasgow Warriors and Scotland. As the big man wryly puts it: “You definitely need a lot more patience with the kids. It’s different stresses. One’s more physical, one’s more mental. I love them both.”
Welcome to Zander’s insanely busy life. For him and his wife, Yasmine, “hectic” does not begin to cover it. But talk to him immediately after another full-on session on the training field – “The backs have coffees and do their hair, the forwards are out grafting” – and the British & Irish Lions prop is clearly full of beans. And why not? Glasgow remain unbeaten in their Champions Cup pool and will sit among the top seeds for the start of the knockout stage should they beat Saracens at Scotstoun on Sunday.
Beyond that is the Six Nations. If Scotland can replicate the Warriors’ up-and-at-em spirit, not least December’s remarkable comeback win over Antoine Dupont’s Toulouse, they cannot be idly dismissed. Most crucially of all, the engaging Fagerson is finally back fit and firing after a gut-wrenching 2025 that would have floored a less resilient type.
The year had started so promisingly after the birth of twins Fia and Hector less than two months earlier. Then there was the thrill of being selected for the Lions, along with several of his Glasgow mates. Little did he imagine the kit day in London would be the closest he would come to joining the squad in Australia, his tour dream scuppered by an untimely sequence of calf injuries.
Even now the memory still stings. “It was brutal and probably the toughest couple of months of my career. It was the emotional rollercoaster … getting injured, being devastated, getting picked for the Lions, seeing the boys down in London and getting a real buzz from that, then having another setback. Running by yourself, no one else in the building and all your mates on a Lions tour or away with Scotland … I found out some things about myself which I can use to keep myself pushing on in future.”
That wasn’t the end of it. Having decided to transform a negative into a positive, Fagerson took his whole family, plus in-laws, on the holiday of a lifetime to Asia rather than sit gloomily at home stewing on his misfortune. He was feeling great when he clocked back in at Glasgow, only to suffer a significant knee injury in the gym doing weighted squats on day one. “I was absolutely buzzing for my first session back with the boys. Then for my knee to go before I’d got out on to the pitch … it really knocked me for six.” Not even being able to play with his kids in the garden – “That ate me up for a while” – compounded his misery.
Hence his delight that his “eight-month pre-season” is finally over – “I wouldn’t say I’m fully match fit just yet but we’re getting there” – and he is now in a position to add to his 76 Scotland caps and 167 appearances for Glasgow. He has always been an interesting character: a former member of the national boys choir of Scotland and a national age-group mountain bike champion, he must be the only pro rugby player with the same middle name as the club he represents. Ragnar translates as “warrior” in Sweden, from where Fagerson’s paternal side of the family originate. “It’s my great-grandfather’s name. He was some man ... a grafter who was all about hard work and providing for his family. A great role model.”
For some time now Zander has also been a player whose presence instantly reassures his teammates for club and country. He and his brother Matt were instrumental in Glasgow’s powerful second-half revival against Toulouse last month when, from 21-0 down, they secured a famous 28-21 win. Away successes against Sale and Clermont have added to the feelgood vibe. “The boys know our gameplan inside out. Lads coming back from injuries and other boys getting into a bit of form … I think it’s a combination of things. We work hard – I can vouch for that – but we also have fun.”
On the face of it, then, it is a pity Huw Jones and Adam Hastings have just announced impending moves to Toulon and Montpellier respectively. Fagerson’s belief is that it will stiffen Glasgow’s resolve even more. “They’re both great men and will be massive losses on and off the field. But we’ve still got a few months together and we’re going to make it count. We want to win every game we play. It doesn’t matter what competition we’re playing in.”
There is also a collective desire to advance further than Glasgow have previously managed in the Champions Cup. Three times they have reached the quarter-finals – and been hammered on each occasion, twice by this weekend’s foes Saracens, and last season by Leinster. “This competition is brutal,” nods Fagerson, preferring not to dwell on the prospect of home advantage in the knockout phases. “You can’t get ahead of yourself.”
A fruitful few months, even so, would mean a lot. On 19 January he turns 30 and he has long felt destiny’s hand on his shoulder. “I’m a man of faith. We don’t know which way it’s going to go but I’ve got total trust that God’s got a plan for me. My last big injury was back in 2018 so in the grand scheme of things maybe this was a little reset he’d planned for me.” Physically he feels he has more to give. “The body takes a bit longer to warm up than when I was 18. But first and foremost I’m still loving my rugby and coming to work every day with a smile on my face. That’s never going to change. I definitely think I can get better. Age is just a number. And luckily tightheads can go for a while.”
All that remains in the shorter term is to keep his domestic fanclub happy by adding a pool-topping bonus to his birthday celebrations. “The kids have been trying to hide a few bits of artwork for me. It’ll be a nice little decompress to have time with the family – and maybe some birthday cake depending how the weekend goes.” If there is one Scottish player who deserves a bit of luck this year it is unquestionably him.
