BULLS HIGH OR BUST
Smith warns Warriors must lift their game at lofty Loftus in push for glory
FRANCO Smith has warned his Glasgow team they’ll have to play a lot better than they did last week if they’re going to upset the odds and beat the Bulls in today’s URC Grand Final.
It’s a tall order. The Warriors have had little time to prepare for this evening’s game, which is at altitude at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
They played brilliantly in last week’s semi-final to beat defending champions Munster 17-10 in Limerick – but got off to a slow start.
Glasgow conceded six penalties in the opening dozen minutes and were lucky the Irishmen only turned one award into points.
They also had two players sent to the sin bin in the first half. So Smith has demanded an improvement. And he’s sure his players have taken his message on board.
The Warriors boss said: “I don’t think what we did last week would be enough to beat the Bulls here. And to make a step up is going to be a big challenge.
“I’m South African, I know how their hearts beat and how the blood goes through their veins and how they desperately want to succeed. So we face another challenge.
“It’s comparable [to
Munster]. But we see this as a different challenge and we must step up if we want to be competitive until the end.
“We’ve learned a lot from last week’s game. There were 20,000 Irish supporters at Thomond Park and it could have been intimidating.
“But we’ve taken a lot from that in our preparation for this week. We know we’ll face a pretty hostile crowd over here as well. It’s just double the number we saw last week.”
Smith has named an unchanged 15 for the third game in a row but has made two changes to his bench.
Prop forward Nathan McBeth is back after missing out last week for concussion – Murphy Walker drops out to make way for him. And Duncan Weir – the only survivor from the side that won the PRO12 in 2015 – is preferred to Ross Thompson.
When the Warriors played the Bulls last month, Weir came off the bench and scored a try and a massive last-gasp penalty.
It wasn’t enough to prevent a 40-34 defeat but did earn his team two bonus points. And
Smith said: “Duncan contributes immensely off the field and his experience counts in his favour.
“He’s played in a lot of Test matches, so maybe that gets him the nod this week.”
The Bulls play at altitude in front of a 52,000 crowd that will be made up almost entirely of their own fans.
But Smith – who spent two seasons with the Bulls as a player – insisted his squad won’t feel at a disadvantage.
He said: “The preparation and the travel won’t be excuses. I still feel Loftus is the best place to play rugby.
“The ball travels a little further, the wind never blows and the temperature is always the same. The ground is always enthusiastic too.
“It’s definitely a proud moment and I’m pleased to share it with the boys.”