'They were physically better than us, there’s no getting away from that'

Glasgow head coach Franco Smith believes their thrilling encounter with Connacht will set them up nicely for the BKT United Rugby Championship play-offs.

Tries from Huw Jones, Ali Price, Tom Jordan and Johnny Matthews secured a ninth consecutive win for Warriors and maintained their unbeaten home record in the URC thanks to a 29-27 success.

Smith’s side now have a momentous two weeks ahead with their first European semi-final to come against Scarlets in the Challenge Cup in Wales followed by a URC play-off quarter-final against Munster at Scotstoun.

“First of all, credit and compliments must go to Connacht,” Smith said. “They had a lot more to play for and we knew that they were going to throw everything at us, which they did for the full 80 minutes.

“The way they went about their game was impressive and they were physically better than us, there’s no getting away from that.

“It was a highly physical encounter and there are a few players being looked at by our medical team after that one. Nobody wanted to lose. We are fiercely proud of our unbeaten record here at Scotstoun.

“It was what we needed going into playoff rugby, to be honest. Our mindset was probably not quite into that of finals rugby yet, which it definitely will be after that.

“That’s the lesson we’ll take as we go into the semi-final at Scarlets next week.”