'He has missed a lot': Franco Smith issues mixed news on Glasgow Warriors injury front

Glasgow head coach Franco Smith believes fit-again pop Murphy Walker needs to string a run of games together for Warriors before he is considered ready to bolster Scotland’s tighthead resources.

The 26-year-old won his first international caps in November 2022 after just eight senior outings for his club and was seen as a likely long-term successor to team-mate Zander Fagerson.

But a raft of serious injuries over the past four years – including hamstring, neck, calf and knee issues – have severely disrupted his progress.

In Smith’s four previous seasons in charge at Scotstoun, Murphy has been restricted to just 16 games for Glasgow – whilst also winning six Scotland caps, the last in November 2025.

He has not played a competitive game since late February, one of six outings last season, but was still called into Scotland’s training squad for the latter two rounds of the Six Nations.

Fixture

United Rugby Championship

Munster

09:30

26 Sep 26

Glasgow

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Having come through pre-season in good shape and with Fagerson unlikely to be available until Glasgow open their European Champions Cup campaign at Sale in mid-October, Walker has a chance to reassert his credentials over the opening three rounds of URC fixtures, starting with Saturday’s date with Munster at Thomond Park.

“Look, he’s played international rugby, so he has been recognised – I think he’s got more international caps than he has for the club!” Smith quipped.

“But the most important ingredient now is for him to play well, enjoy what is happening, but not put any expectation on his current position. He is in a situation where extra expectation – things that will distract him from what he can control – might lead to him not getting back the rugby time he has missed.

“He has missed a lot of time on the pitch, even though he has trained really hard. He has got to play now. I’m not saying he has to play always, but he has not played often enough. Whether that influences his recovery on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, to get back for the next game, to make sure he gets continuity and takes the lessons learned from one game to another, because the main training ingredient is the previous game.

“We would like to see him get a bit of continuity. For now, that should be the objective for him – to stay fit, learn to recover and have the ability to play consecutive weeks. Then maybe there is another discussion. But for now, I don’t think he must look further than the next week.

“That enthusiasm hasn’t gone; he is training well again. He was unfortunate with injuries, but he has stuck to the task. Murphy’s willingness to fight disappointment and keep on working hard, away from the team, is something that stands out.”

While Walker, who turns 27 next month, seeks to relaunch a stop-start career in Limerick, versatile back Jamie Dobie will play his 100th game for the club aged just 25.

The sometime scrum-half will start the season on the left wing, where he also started four Tests for Scotland last season either side of a shoulder injury which required surgery, having made his debut for Glasgow as an 18-year-old in September 2019 against a Cheetahs side then coached by Smith.

“He is an impressive person and an impressive man,” Smith said of Dobie, who also has 22 Scotland caps. “He is actually a true warrior from a physical perspective. He meets all the criteria here from a physical development point of view.

“He is still young to be playing 100 games and he has been injured quite a bit. We all hoped he would play his 100th game in the [URC] final last year but it didn’t work out that way. But I’m glad now he will get the opportunity tomorrow.

“He is a fantastic player, an excellent person to have in the team. It doesn’t matter what number he has on his back, he is always contributing. He is very positive in training, he has a big influence in the club and he is a very good example for the young players coming through, having walked the development pathway in a Glasgow Warriors jersey.”

As well as Fagerson, Smith also hopes to have captain Kyle Steyn back from a foot injury in time for the start of the Champions Cup next month, while it is hoped new signing Jamie Ritchie will have recovered from an ankle issue in time to make his Warriors debut before the November break for the Nations Championship.

Second-row Alex Samuel, who enjoyed an outstanding last season before picking up a knee injury on Scotland duty in July that required surgery, will be sidelined “until after the November internationals at least”, Smith reported, but another Scotland lock, Alex Craig, could return “in the next couple of weeks” from a torn foot tendon sustained in late March.

Smith was a little more circumspect on when Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu would enter the fray at the start of a 12-month period which, fitness permitting, should end with him leading Scotland into the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

“He is going to play an important role this year for both club and country,” Smith noted. “Not just that, but it means we will be without him for quite a bit.

“So Ollie [Smith] and Stafford [McDowall] and Bayley Kuenzle and the two young boys [Kerr Yule and Johnny Ventisei] also need to learn to take up the baton when he is not available. This also presents us with an opportunity to bring the next guys through when he is not there.”

Despite losing half-a-dozen internationals over the summer including Jack Dempsey, Huw Jones and Adam Hastings, Smith believes Glasgow can continue to overcome the loss of key players to remain URC contenders, having won the title in 2024 and reached the semi-finals for the past two seasons.

“We won it in the [Smith’s] second season [in charge],” he noted. “Nobody thought at the start of that season we’d win it either. Nobody thought we’d play in the final of the [European] Challenge Cup in the first season. Nobody thought we’d be at the top of the log last year after we’ve lost the two games in South Africa.

“We played so well that we topped all the stats in year three and unfortunately lost against Leinster twice in both competitions. So of course we’re going to try… that’s always the mission.

“I think everybody knows we’re determined to be the best version of ourselves. We know what we need to do and that’s what we focus on, not on the outcome at the moment.

“There’s not one easy game in this competition. It’s year six of the URC and we are not oblivious of the fact that all teams would like to be at the top of the table. We’ve been there and we’ll have a target on our back, I’ve got no doubt about that. So we know what’s coming, but for now we focus on getting our process going, focus on playing one minute at a time and making the most of our time in the competition.”