Franco Smith on ‘the message’ he wants Glasgow Warriors to take while ‘clicking’ Stormers remain in touch after Springbok’s ‘nice bonus’
Glasgow Warriors boss Franco Smith spoke after their win over Benetton.
Glasgow Warriors remain top of the United Rugby Championship table after a weekend that saw a series of vital fixtures between play-off rivals in the Race to the Eight.
The league leaders picked up a 31-10 bonus point victory against Benetton at Scotstoun Stadium on Friday as Franco Smith put one over on the team he used to coach.
Glasgow trailed 10-7 at half-time, but then scored 21 unanswered points after the break with winger Fergus Watson getting one of their five tries in a fine debut outing.
That is now 15 wins out of 18 games in all competitions this season for the Warriors, who have an Investec Champions Cup Round of 16 tie against the Bulls coming up next week.
Not getting carried away
But head coach Smith insists there is no chance of them getting carried away with their lofty position.
“Fortunately, we had a first-half like this, which actually humbles you a little bit and makes sure everybody’s feet stay on the floor and that we are very well connected in what we should do and not what we want,” he said.
“That has got to be the message – stop worrying about where we are and how it is and hopefully we can get it done anyway.”
As for what his half-time team-talk had entailed, he said: “We felt we weren’t as confrontational as we were last week and that was addressed.”
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Not for the first time this season, Glasgow racked up the points in the second half, so what does Smith put that trend down to?
“It’s belief and trust in the boys and the fact that we want to continue to play when the opposition gets a little bit tired, I suppose.
“The more you score points in that part of the game, the more the players believe they must stick in the fight.
“I am proud of the hard work that has gone in from everybody in the club. It’s really coming off. There’s a big end of the season ahead of us now.”
Stormers get job done
Staying in touch with Glasgow in the race for top spot in the URC are the Stormers, who picked up a 33-14 bonus point win over Edinburgh in Cape Town on Saturday.
In front of the league’s biggest crowd of the weekend – 21,487 – the Stormers pulled away in the final quarter with number eight Evan Roos completing a try double.
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That takes him level with Connacht’s Sean Jansen and Leinster’s Joshua Kenny as the joint top try-scorer in the URC this season, with all three on nine crossings.
Roos, who picked up the URC Player of the Match, said: “I am just enjoying it, and I think the team is clicking well now. It’s fun.
“We understand our roles, and everyone buys into it, which is awesome. The tries are just a nice bonus for me.”