'Appreciate the respect' - Glasgow Warriors coach reacts to Edinburgh tactic
Glasgow name 1872 Cup team early as call made for big Hampden turnout
Franco Smith says he “appreciates the respect” shown to his Glasgow Warriors team by Edinburgh after the capital side rested a number of frontline players so they would be fresh for this weekend’s 1872 Cup first leg at Hampden.
Sean Everitt, the Edinburgh coach, selected a shadow team for last Sunday’s Investec Champions Cup clash against Castres in France and the depleted line-up were beaten 33-0.
Everitt said beforehand that he was prioritising the 1872 Cup and rested Scotland internationals Duhan van der Merwe, Pierre Schoeman, Grant Gilchrist and Magnus Bradbury for the Euro tie.
Glasgow, by contrast, picked a full-strength team to play Toulouse at Scotstoun in the Champions Cup and stunned the six-time winners by coming back from 21-0 down at half-time to win 28-21.
Smith has held the upper hand in the 1872 Cup since taking over as Glasgow coach in 2022, winning the inter-city trophy three times in a row. He offered Edinburgh a gentle reminder of their long wait to get their hands on the cup as he named his team early for the game at Hampden on Saturday.
“Edinburgh is a strong opposition, they've rested a lot of players to be ready for us this week, and I think continuity for us at the moment is really important as we put some building blocks in place for the rest of the season,” said Smith.
“I appreciate the respect from them, obviously we know they haven't won it for the past few years, and they're going to be very determined. I think this might be something they decided to do at the start of the season [rest key players]. We always expected them to come hard at these two games, we expected them to have their best team available.”
‘Hopefully they’ll fill that stadium’
Edinburgh will name their team on Friday but Smith was prepared to reveal his hand early and hopes that by picking another side studded with top-class players it will encourage a bigger turnout on Saturday.
More than 27,000 attended last season’s Glasgow v Edinburgh game at Hampden, the first time the match had been played at the national football stadium. Tickets sales are believed to be slightly slower this year but after the remarkable victory over Toulouse, Smith has called on fans to turn out.
“I'll be honest,” he said. “We hope that people will see that it's a good team that is going out there. Hopefully they'll buy some more tickets to come and fill that stadium. It’s a chance for the public to see the team early and hopefully we'll get some more people through the gates.”
Smith has made only one personnel change to his starting side, with George Horne coming in at scrum-half, but has been forced into a reshuffle of his backline. Josh McKay, the Glasgow full-back, misses out with the hamstring injury he sustained against Toulouse, so Ollie Smith switches from wing to 15. Jamie Dobie, who started at scrum-half against the French champions, moves to the wing.
Glasgow enjoyed a convincing 33-14 victory over Edinburgh at Hampden last season, with the visitors scoring two late tries through Boan Venter to take a bit of the gloss off the final scoreline for the Warriors. Edinburgh responded well a week later, and for the second year in a row they won the second leg narrowly at Murrayfield, although it wasn’t enough to prevent Glasgow winning the 1872 Cup on aggregate.
“If we are comparing them, I don’t want to lose the next game at Murrayfield this time,” added Smith. “We want to have that continuity, to build an innings in the next four sets of 40 minutes. We need to start well and be on top of our game, but it is a rugby game, and if something goes wrong, it shouldn't faze us. Our ability to adapt and find another way will be important.
“I'm sure the quality of the Edinburgh team will ask proper questions of us like they've been doing in other games this season, and across both competitions.
“When people look at their last game, they maybe forget that they just beat Toulon the week before. They've had some important wins already this year, so we'll just focus on how we want to play, what needs to help us progress. Edinburgh is obviously the opposition, but like I said last week, we're focusing on our own process. I'm not too focused on what the opposition brings.”
Josh McKay injury latest
Smith is hopeful McKay’s hamstring injury is not as bad as originally thought but the Kiwi full-back will play no part at Hampden. “It looks like it’s not such a deep tissue injury that was originally feared,” said the coach. “Hopefully we'll get some better news when he gets a re-scan next week.”
Smith was born and raised in South Africa and is immersed in rugby but has become an adopted Glaswegian in his three-and-a-half years in Scotland and appreciates the history behind the stadium in Mount Florida, enjoying thoroughly last year’s experience.
“It was fantastic - the Hampden roar,” he smiled. “Obviously we need the supporters there to make that work. I honestly experienced one of the best nights at Scotstoun on Saturday night with the crowd really being loud, even after we got into the changing room.
“I hope we can see some of that support this week. That really made it special last year. We had 27,000 people there, making it a special day for us on the pitch. It is a privilege to play in that stadium. Hopefully we'll get a lot of support through the gates now, late in the week, so we can experience that atmosphere again.”
Glasgow Warriors (v Edinburgh, Hampden, Saturday, 3pm): Ollie Smith; Kyle Steyn (capt), Stafford McDowall, Sione Tuipulotu, Jamie Dobie; Adam Hastings, George Horne; Nathan McBeth, Gregor Hiddleston, Zander Fagerson, Max Williamson, Scott Cummings, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey. Replacements: Seb Stephen, Rory Sutherland, Sam Talakai, Alex Craig, Gregor Brown, Ally Miller, Ben Afshar, Dan Lancaster.
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