Duncan Weir is not a fly-half who illuminates matches with eye‑catching moments but he is what Worcester have long needed. Apart from Andy Goode at the start of the decade Worcester have lacked a No 10 who could play off the back foot, put his forwards in the right areas and minimise mistakes.
Last season, they used five starters in the position in the Premiership and Europe compared with the two of Saracens but in the close season they recruited the Scotland No 10. Weir, having won 27 caps, is versed in the basics of the game and exerts a controlling influence, calm and consistent.
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“I see my role at Worcester as giving the jersey merit,” he says. “That means doing my job correctly and taking opportunities. All through my career I have faced competition for my place and it is not different at Worcester. That drives you on and makes you strive to be better.”
At 5ft 8in, Weir is a target for ball‑carrying forwards but never flinches from a challenge and came within a few feet of a memorable competitive debut against Wasps last Saturday when his drop goal attempt in the final seconds drifted to the left of the posts.
“I know that my size makes my channel inviting for opposition forwards but if you do not make your tackles in modern rugby you do not play. The size of the man running at me does not really bother me: I just know I need to get him to the deck in some way and give the side an opportunity to jackal for the ball. Wasps have some big boys and I was hurting on Sunday and Monday, but to me tackling is fun.”
Weir spent eight years in Scotland, playing for Glasgow and then Edinburgh, who released him after he had spent most of last season on the sidelines. An injection to sort out a persistent groin problem left him with a bacterial infection that spread throughout the lower part of his body and left him on crutches. “The move to Worcester came at a good time in my career,” says the 27-year-old.
Weir has yet to play for Scotland under Gregor Townsend, his former coach at Glasgow, because of those injuries. “It provided the fresh start I needed. Making Scotland’s World Cup squad is a goal but that will depend on my form with Worcester.
“I had a chat with Gregor before I joined Worcester. Playing in England will not be a case of out of sight, out of mind. He has given me some work-ons and targets and he is the type of coach who watches every minute of players on his radar. It will come down to my club form and the Premiership is such a tough tournament that if you hold your own, you are doing something right.”
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Worcester were the pre-season favourites to be relegated following the promotion of ambitious Bristol, but the manner of their performance against Wasps, Premiership finalists two seasons ago and semi-finalists in May, suggested the relegation battle will be the tightest for years.
“It was a frustrating game because we created more opportunities than Wasps but were not clinical enough,” Weir says. “We could have won it at the death: we had not practised for a drop goal and our shape was not ideal but I have kicked three at the tail end of games that went over and went through the process correctly, dragging the kick to the left.
“We pushed a top team all the way and that will fuel us with belief at Sale on Sunday. They have a good home record, a dangerous back three and they like to play at a high tempo. We cannot give them cheap territory and we have to be clinical, make sure we stay in the fight and are in contention with 20 minutes to go.”
When Weir started playing for Glasgow, the side were based at Partick’s Firhill Stadium and struggled to attract more than 2,000 spectators. “Within a few years we won the league [the then Pro 12] and were selling out. I would like to think we are at the start of something successful at Worcester. There is a proud rugby culture here and if we could get on a roll it would draw in fans.”