'I basically don’t have a PCL now, I can play without one' - Adam Hastings

Adam Hastings wants to make one thing clear.

He has never visited, and has no plans to visit, a witch doctor. Not even if the injury curse that robbed him of the best part of 18 months of his career strikes again.

“This is all bullshit!” laughs the Glasgow and Scotland flyhalf when asked about a comment he made in a BBC interview earlier this year to the effect that his sister, who is based in Barcelona, had jokingly invited to book him an appointment.

“Every time I turn up somewhere, someone is chatting about me seeing a witch doctor. I’ve been getting messages from people online saying, ‘don’t do that mate, it’s really dangerous!’.

“All I said was that my sister had said, ‘do you want to go and see a witch doctor? I’ll book you in’ – laughing and joking. And then people have been like, ‘he went and saw a witch doctor’, as if it was some weird ceremony. I’m like, no! If I had another injury…maybe…no, I’m going nowhere near that. I’ll stick to ice baths with my recovery instead of going to witch doctors.”

Hastings, 28 early next month, is happy to share that during his three-year spell at Gloucester, where a series of shoulder, ankle and knee injuries, and four operations, restricted him to just eight games in his final two seasons, he did try some slightly unconventional solutions to some of his orthopaedic calamities.

“I’ve experimented with a lot of things,” he said. “When I snapped my PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) in my knee again, I needed to get the swelling down, because it causes instability. I was going to see if I could play without getting it healed.

“I basically don’t have a PCL now, I can play without one. But I needed to get the swelling out, so I went carnivore for two weeks. Just meat, salt, eggs and water. That helped, but it wasn’t sustainable. My weight was dropping a ridiculous amount.

“I tried ice baths every morning for about six months, and other things around nutrition. Not drinking for extended periods was a big one – even having one or two was adding to how I’d feel coming in on a Monday morning.”

This particular Monday morning, Hastings is happy to report he feels “in a good place now where I can find a balance with things”. Touch wood, he is injury-free and relishing the prospect of a first competitive match back at Scotstoun, a stadium he graced for four years before heading south, against Benetton on Friday.

It is good to hear him in fine form considering what he and the whole Hastings clan have been through in recent weeks.

Their world was turned upside down earlier this month when the body of Adam’s auntie Jenny, wife of Scotland legend Scott Hastings, sister-in-law of Adam’s father Gavin, was found four days after she disappeared near a wild swimming spot in Edinburgh.

Glasgow teammates, head coach Franco Smith and the wider rugby community have rallied round amid the unfolding family tragedy.

“It’s been amazing,” Adam said. “Loads of people have reached out and I’ve really felt the love in here as well. The boys have been brilliant with me, especially Franco. He allowed me to fly out to Belfast late (for Glasgow’s URC opener against Ulster last Saturday) and then fly back in the morning, absolutely no problems. The club have been really good with me.”

Hastings took an early flight home to attend a memorial service for his aunt in Edinburgh on Sunday. “It was amazing - like a celebration of life as opposed to a funeral,” he said. “It was brilliant. There were loads of the rugby community there and it was awesome.

“I’m lucky we have a massive family. Everyone came from all over - my uncle from Australia, my sister came back from Barcelona just to be here with the family. My other cousin (Scott’s son Corey) came back from San Francisco. There were plenty of people around just to be there for each other, so it was a really nice day.”

Rugby has provided something of a release for Hastings these past traumatic weeks. “When you’re out on the pitch, that’s all you’re thinking about and it gives you something else to focus on I suppose, rather than ruminating over what’s happened.”

Saturday was his second debut for the club, seven years after his first. He came on as a replacement for the final 22 minutes at the Kingspan Stadium and like most of his teammates, was pitched into a sustained defensive rearguard action for the final quarter, contributing nine tackles to an ultimately losing cause after Ulster’s late winning score.

A first-choice pick under Dave Rennie in his previous spell at Warriors after succeeding Finn Russell at No10, helping Glasgow reach the 2019 Pro 14 final, Hastings may have to bide his time on his return to Scotstoun.

New Zealand-born Tom Jordan, who becomes eligible for Scotland this autumn, helped Warriors to a stunning URC title triumph with a bravura final display against the Bulls in Pretoria, and was handed the starting jersey for the opening Ulster assignment.

“Competition is good and it’s healthy,” Hastings said. “When I left, Tom hadn’t played much for Glasgow but he’s a different player now. He’s improved so much and he’s a great lad too. We really get on and it’s been cool seeing his improvement. Franco has developed lots of boys and it’s similar with (centre) Stafford McDowall. He was struggling to get games under Danny Wilson when I left but he’s now the main man.

“Obviously I want to start wherever I am. But the boys did a fantastic job last year and you’d be mental to think you can just come in and get that starting jersey in a team that has just won the competition. For me it’s about proving my worth and when I get my go, just performing. When and if that comes, I’ll hopefully be ready.”

Hastings said he felt “lots of nostalgia just driving back into the car park” at Scotstoun this summer, having not been back at all in the three years he was away, but he admits leaving Gloucester was nevertheless an “extremely difficult decision”.

“They were brilliant with me during my time there, absolutely fantastic, and I can’t say a bad word about them with the way they treated me,” said the flyhalf, whose time at Kingshom ended with a European Challenge Cup final defeat by the Sharks in May. “But sometimes you just have that feeling and it felt right to come back.”

He returned to the Scotland fold on this summer’s tour of the Americas and now finds himself among old and new faces who have tasted recent success and want more of it.

“It’s always been a really tight-knit club with that family vibe and everybody is really close, especially off the field - I noticed that straight away,” he added.

“I think winning changes people. Obviously I’ve not won anything, but you can feel that here with people’s confidence in everything. It’s really prominent and everybody backs each other. I felt it on Friday with the defensive effort and you feel the connection in everybody working for each other. It’s a pleasure to be back.”