United Rugby Championship: Glasgow expecting a ‘completely different story’ in second 1872 Cup clash

Colin Newboult

2K496DW Swansea, UK. 01st Oct, 2022. SWANSEA, WALES - OCTOBER 01: Glasgow Warriors Head Coach Franco Smith prior to the BKT United Rugby Championship fixture between The Ospreys and Glasgow Warriors at the Swansea.com Stadium on October 1st, 2022 in Swansea City, Wales. (Pic by John Smith) Credit: John Smith/Alamy Live News

Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith believes that Edinburgh will provide a stern response following the first 1872 Cup encounter.

The Warriors edged to a 16-10 triumph at Scotstoun on Friday, moving above their intra-country rivals in the table in the process.

They are now in fifth place in the United Rugby Championship standings and are very much in contention for a play-off spot.

Edinburgh onslaught

There is not much to chose between Glasgow and Edinburgh, however, and Smith is preparing for an onslaught from Mike Blair’s men in the reverse fixture on December 30.

“Next week will be a completely different story away from home. We’ve got Christmas now and I hope the guys enjoy that but we know we will face a really strong Edinburgh team next week,” he told reporters.

It was not a free-flowing contest between these two Scottish rivals but Smith was pleased with how they fronted up against a talented Edinburgh outfit.

“I’m very happy with the fight for the gain line the guys showed,” he added. “We didn’t get the attacking platforms we hoped for but the guys stuck in well.

“There’s still a lot of learning to be done, but I’m happy to get the win. We must learn now how to muscle teams out in the last 20 minutes and see the game out, which we did.”

Meanwhile, Edinburgh boss Blair felt neither side were at their sharpest but conceded that Glasgow were the better team on the night.

Pressure moments

“It was a derby game – we probably didn’t see the best of either team,” he said. “Sometimes that happens and it is how you manage the big pressure moments.

“I thought into the breeze, we weren’t at our best, but we managed the conditions pretty well and managed to restrict them to just the one try.

“In the second half we struggled back into the game and put ourselves within three points, but there were just a couple of things which had they gone the other way, or had we been slightly smarter with our decision-making, the result could have been the other way.

“They deserved their win. I thought they showed more physicality than us at the start of the game and more intent.”

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