Northern Edition
Select Edition
Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Six changes made for Glasgow’s clash against Edinburgh at Murrayfield

By PA
Franco Smith - PA

Glasgow head coach Franco Smith has opted to make six changes to his starting pack for Saturday’s 1872 Cup second leg away to Edinburgh.

ADVERTISEMENT

Warriors defeated their inter-city rivals 24-12 in an attritional affair at Hampden last weekend.

While Smith has kept the same back-line – meaning captain Kyle Steyn will make his 100th appearance for the club – he has reshuffled his entire front row and second row, with back-rowers Matt Fagerson and Jack Dempsey the only two forwards remaining in the starting XV.

Related

Senior players Zander Fagerson, Gregor Brown and Scott Cummings, who stands to make his 150th appearance for Glasgow on Saturday, are rotated to the bench.

VIDEO

Edinburgh have made three changes to their XV from last weekend, with hooker Ewan Ashman and centre Piers O’Conor both missing out due to concussion.

Prop Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 19, drops to the bench where he is joined by his 21-year-old brother Jerry, who ?is set for his professional debut.

Harri Morris and Paul Hill come into the front row, while James Lang returns from injury to take O’Conor’s place in midfield.

ADVERTISEMENT

RugbyPass App Download

News, stats, live rugby and more! Download the new RugbyPass app on the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android) now!


Whether you’re looking for somewhere to track upcoming fixtures, a place to watch live rugby or an app that shows you all of the latest news and analysis, the RugbyPass rugby app is perfect.

ADVERTISEMENT
Play Video
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Long Reads

Comments on RugbyPass

c
cw 6 hours ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Thanks JW for clarifying your point and totally agree. The ABs are still trying to find their mojo” - that spark of power that binds and defines them. Man the Boks certainly found theirs in Wellington! But I think it cannot be far off for ABs - my comment about two coaches was a bit glib. The key point for me is that they need first a coach or coaches that can unlock that power and for me that starts at getting the set piece right and especially the scrum and second a coach that can simplify the game plans. I am fortified in this view by NBs comment that most of the ABs tries come from the scrum or lineout - this is the structured power game we have been seeing all year. But it cannot work while the scrum is backpeddling. That has to be fixed ASAP if Robertson is going to stick to this formula. I also think it is too late in the cycle to reverse course and revert to a game based on speed and continuity. The second is just as important - keep it simple! Complex movements that require 196 cm 144 kg props to run around like 95kg flankers is never going to work over a sustained period. The 2024 Blues showed what a powerful yet simple formula can do. The 2025 Blues, with Beauden at 10 tried to be more expansive / complicated - and struggled for most of the season.

I also think that the split bench needs to reflect the game they “want” to play not follow some rote formula. For example the ABs impact bench has the biggest front row in the World with two props 195cm / 140 kg plus. But that bulk cannot succeed without the right power based second row (7, 4, 5, 6). That bulk becomes a disadvantage if they don’t have a rock solid base behind them - as both Boks showed at Eden Park and the English in London. Fresh powerful legs need to come on with them - thats why we need a 6-2 bench. And teams with this split can have players focused only on 40 minutes max of super high intensity play. Hence Robertson needs to design his team to accord with these basic physics.



...

220 Go to comments
Close
ADVERTISEMENT