1
Franco Smith: 'There's no first-choice and second-choice players here'
By Bryn Palmer
Glasgow head coach Franco Smith has brushed aside concerns over his side’s recent form and reiterated his belief that Warriors will still be strong contenders in the URC play-offs.
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The defending champions return to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium for their final game of the regular season on Saturday to face runaway leaders Leinster, who thumped them 52-0 at the same venue five weeks ago in the Champions Cup quarter-finals.
Since that setback, Smith’s injury-hit squad have scraped an unconvincing win against Zebre in Parma, suffered a rare home defeat by the Bulls and slumped to a dismal 33-7 loss to Benetton in Treviso last weekend.
A third straight URC defeat on Saturday, against a powerful Leinster line-up, could see Glasgow slip to fourth place in the final table, having spent most of the season in second.
But with a home quarter-final – potentially a repeat of last year’s against the Stormers – secured several weeks ago, Smith remains confident his side will still be a force to be reckoned with come the knockout stages.
United Rugby Championship
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Leinster
17
15
2
0
72
2
Bulls
17
13
4
0
63
3
Glasgow
17
11
6
0
59
4
Sharks
17
12
5
0
58
5
Stormers
18
10
8
0
55
6
Munster
18
9
9
0
51
7
Edinburgh
18
8
9
1
49
8
Scarlets
17
9
7
1
48
9
Cardiff Rugby
18
8
9
1
47
10
Benetton
18
9
8
1
46
11
Ospreys
17
7
9
1
38
12
Ulster
18
7
11
0
38
13
Lions
17
7
10
0
35
14
Connacht
17
5
12
0
35
15
Zebre
17
5
11
1
29
16
Dragons RFC
17
1
16
0
9
“Sometimes, through the injury factors and other factors in the sense that we’ve qualified for the quarters, the objectives start changing,” said the South African.
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“I’ve hardly picked the best Warriors players. I’ve always picked the best team, but not necessarily all the best players in the team every time. There’s no first-choice and second-choice players here from my perspective, but some players are internationals and some have more experience. If they come back into the environment, they obviously change it all for us.
“Last year, we went through the same patch [in their final regular-season games]. We played not good enough against the Bulls away from home, got smashed by the Lions the week after. It was a real average performance against Zebre here at home. We scrambled through the last three games. Then we went on [to win the title] and nobody ever spoke about those games again.
“It takes a big mental and physical power to stay on top of the log for so long, with all the other distractions amongst it. I think form is temporary, but class is forever. I hope we’ll find our class with some of the international boys coming back.
“There’s never been a concern about the quality of our group. It’s understandable to go off form. I don’t want to compare it to other sports but there are football clubs that struggled – they were on top of the world and then suddenly lose seven games in a row. Then it all comes back good again after. I suppose it’s part of sport. Hopefully, everybody else thinks that we won’t get back to form.”
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The return of Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu, who has recovered from a pectoral muscle injury that has kept him out since January, alongside centre partner Huw Jones, should help Warriors rediscover some of their rhythm and composure in attack.
“Obviously we’re very excited to have him back,” Smith said. “The emotional rollercoaster that he’s been on the last 14 weeks was tough for the man.
“He was about ready to go last week already but we withdrew him on the Friday. This is an important decision and we wanted him to do the final testing and he was comfortable and confident with it.
“But we are now spot on with the timing. He looks good and in good nick. Hopefully, his recovery is now all done and he can just concentrate on playing.”
Tuipulotu’s return sees fellow Scotland centre Stafford McDowall drop to the bench, where he will not only cover his usual midfield beat but also the back row, with Jack Dempsey, Matt Fagerson, Gregor Brown, Jack Mann, Sione Vailanu and Henco Venter all unavailable.
“We have trained him [McDowall] there for the last couple of months, I suppose,” Smith explained. “You’ve seen him jump in the line-out now and then. He can play there if needed. It allows us to get the best players out on the pitch.
“It’s not necessarily the first thing we would like to do. But we might see him doing that role if needed. I had to remind him quite a bit this week he’s still a centre, because he really enjoyed the change to come around our unit sessions for a bit.
“We make sure that if we have a yellow card or something happens going forward, we have some of these players doubling up so that we are not disrupted if something like that happens. Yellow and red cards is part of the game. It’s bitten us before in a quarter.
“To make sure that a lot of players can cross traditional borders is important in our preparation going forward. We do not want to be caught out. He’s a classic example of somebody that can convert and do that for us.”
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