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Franco Smith: 'We know that they pose a tremendous challenge'

By PA
Glasgow Warriors Head Coach Franco Smith

Franco Smith is adamant there is no chance of URC champions Glasgow underestimating Edinburgh in the first leg of their 1872 Cup showdown at Hampden on Sunday.

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Warriors go into the match as favourites by virtue of finishing above their inter-city rivals in each of the past two seasons and being ahead of them in the current one. In addition, Glasgow have won each of the past two 1872 Cup contests.

However, head coach Smith is braced for a tough test against a side featuring several Scotland internationals, including former Warriors half-backs Ross Thompson and Ali Price.

“I think there’s a lot of talk about us being the favourites outside of the building, but we know that they pose a tremendous challenge,” he said.

“First of all, there’s a lot of individual battles that are always part of the derbies. The quality of their team, they’ve got a big pack of forwards, they are well organised.

“There’s a lot of improvement from last season regarding their set-piece, scrum and maul set-up. They’ve got quality in the back three; we know that. You can’t hand the ball to them. We know Ross and Ali Price really well. They’re a quality team all around.

“The fact that they’ve scored 100 points in the last three games, they can at any given day rip you apart. They’ve got a lot to prove to themselves, and I’m sure that they’re going to make it really, really hard for us, and they won’t give us our way. It’s going to be tough.”

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Smith is mindful of the threat posed by Edinburgh wings Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham, who are now Scotland’s two highest scorers of all time.

“Look at their try-scoring record; they finish well,” said Smith. “Darcy, specifically lately, has been getting his hands on a lot of the ball off his wing. He gets involved quite a bit and asks defenders questions.

“We’re very much aware of them. They’re the top scorers for Edinburgh and for Scotland. They’re so far ahead in scoring points on the wings that we know that they pose a specific threat and can make a difference.”

Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt is mindful of the need to avoid giving away penalties against an “efficient” Glasgow side.

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“They look after the ball really well,” he said. They’ve got a ball-in-hand approach that goes with some risk, but somehow, they’ve managed to reduce that risk.

“Their passing accuracy is good. They get good width on the ball. At the same time, they have a really good defence system.

“They win a lot of penalties, which gives them entries into the 22. They’re very efficient when they get into your 22. They’re a good all-round team and a difficult team to break down.

“We’d love to go into the game as favourites because that means that we’ve done well, but if you look at the form of the teams over the last year, I suppose you’ve got to look at Glasgow as favourites.

“We don’t mind the underdog status. As a team, we know we’ve got a lot of growth in us and a lot of learning to be done. We’ll take that (underdog tag) for this week, and hopefully, we’ll be going in as favourites next week.”

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M
Mzilikazi 2 hours ago
Is the overlap dying in modern rugby?

A very interesting article, Nick. On beautiful and unseasonly cool summer morning here in our part of Qld., as the sun rises over the distant Border Ranges beyond the misty Lockyer Valley, that winter of '63 in the British Isles is now a distant but clear memory. There was a very heavy snowfall in Ulster, I was at school in Belfast. The snow was so heavy by mid morning that the headmaster closed down, sent us all home. Fine for those 99% of the kids who lived within a few miles of the school in E. Belfast. But my brother and I lived up on the Antrim Plateau, a good hour away. It was an interesting journey home, including a three mile hike along narrow country lanes !


It will be interesting to see how Ireland go this year in the 6N. The Nienaber defence revolution at Leinster is bound to be to the fore, with the dominance of that province in the make up of the team. However I would hope the legacy of the Lancaster era is still strong too. I'm not feeling too confident atm, with the AB game and the 2024 England 6N defeat too fresh in the memory.


Great clips from the JPR era. I see John Dawes involved there, and he was so often crucial with his ability to pass accurately under pressure. That is what is missing in the LAR game clips. A John Dawes type ability to pass well under pressure. I feel the teams that cause the rush defence problems will always be those that use out the back accurate passes to create space for the wide player, be he a Cheslin Kolbe or a big fast modern age forward,

26 Go to comments
J
JW 4 hours ago
Scott Robertson has to take charge of his All Blacks in 2025

Haha crap man I wouldn't know if SR has ever made a profit. ABs subsidize everything. Factors like SR clubs not paying 'for' their ABs etc, normal having a star would cost you 2 or 3x as much as a regular, but NZR covers all that in NZ. Pretty sure was the case for the other two partners too. I doubt even NZR knows the exact ratios sponsors like Sky/Adidas/AIG/Altrad/Investec give for local product.


No doubt SR used to make more money with the 3 partners, but of course it was also split 3 way. TBH I don't think its going to be much different (I think the new deal is still higher than before?). That last deal was bumper despite the comp being in decline, then SA left and the deal was probably worth even more for NZ? Can't recall how that played out I think Sky kept the agreemnt (fully). They'll be taking a big hit but it would be anything to do with the state of the game.


So when you say bleeding, you mean since around 2013/14 right? When SA'n and Aussie crowds finally stopped turning up to watch NZ smash them every week. So again, I was just stating your picture was wrong, and you've got the wrong causes, I don't disagree too much with the idea it's 'bleeding' though, id1ots were complaining about NZ sides getting a rough deal come final time for a loooong period and lots of other things that dragged the game down but on the field it just kept getting better and better. The problem is this nationalistic concept, that caught up on them (previously being the great driver for interest) and fans didn't care about the top four teams like every other sports competition in the world. They only cared about their local teams not winning.


No, SR wasnt optimal, which is what it was recommended to have just the SR Pacific comp instead. I'm not sure how much better things are now though. It needs time?


I know how I'd like to find equilibrium and it's much like what you propose. One big difference is I just don't think they need to cut SR. I would switch investment into an NPC/fully domestic scene + youth, like you, I'd just have like a much shorter SR season and I'd try and create a university scene rather than high school, that little extra age demographic matters a lot to investment/interest.


It's what the NRL can pay, and I think I heard it recently for someone in the spot light. I used it as a future figure more than anything though, the idea being these other leagues are only going to be more and more competitive, so much so they take away local talent before it can have a chance to develop. And once it goes they're unlikely to develop into the player they would have here. Not choosing a path that can compete will be a disaster imo. Thus the All Black decline.


I think don't think theres any reason your ideas can't work though, with maybe a added little flair here and there to drive some extra revenue. 20 is just a number to get a picture how many of top 60 might dissapear, it's nothing Id calculated. Think of it as an 'at any particular time' number.


In general I think people so quickly forget those that leave and all hope is placed on the next guy. Think that were talking top 4 or 5 in a position, there are a lot of positions that don't place much past the number 3. Look at Bell, theres no one he would be one of NZ top dozen hookers, numerous people would have left without getting a shot and the likes of Riccitelli or Eklund are obvious better. You've got first fives like Burke, Jordan, Falcon, Black, Plummer next year, Ioane Sopoaga, West who at any one time are going to be 3, 4, and 5 in NZ order. You've TKB, Smith, now Perenara, Weber, even Ruru is having a standout season and ALL would be better than the 3rd best local in Hotham or Christie. Now weve got last season statistical best full back leaving in Stevenson, he's joining Moorby and Rayasi, Bridge, and god knows who else who's having an awesome year that would break him into the All Blacks if it was in Super Rugby. Midfield is stacked when at home would be scratching around for guys like the Umaga-Jensen boys hoping they were fit to fill out 4 or 5th best 2nd5 and centers, when the likes of TJ Faiane, Nankiville, Seta, Aso, Fekitoa, Goodhue, Leicester, Ngani, even one of my fav Rob Thompson would be better than getting down to picks like Aumua, Ennor, McCleod, Tupea, and those that would have to come after them. We've got some of my fav loosies in Lachlan Boshier, Charlie Gamble, Whetu Douglas overseas, now Akira, never my talented players like.


I think your top 60 must have be a picture of the 36 man Crusaders squad plus a list of last years All Blacks! Obviously I've gone off track here as sure, these players leave a big whole but it's not one that NZ hasn't been able to fill in the past while maintaining quality SR sides (the periods when it was rocking), but there will be a time when loosing too many of those quality players has a much bigger impact than the already currently disillusioned SR fan can take.


Bottom line is Australia have far more talent and players that we do (statistically) and all that would need to have in the short term to fix your perceived problem with Super Rugby is trade some the best NZ players into the Aus sides. Simple, problem solved, competitive comp achieved.

cut off super rugby and stop the bleeding . put all the money back into the remaining competitions

Is too quick, many will see it as an opportunity to leave and that starts the very risky slope. You have to have a plan. Any change needs to be gradual and with a better future prospect, until then, voices like yours are only going to undermine any possible immediate success.

87 Go to comments
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