‘All must win’ for Glasgow Warriors in Europe after maul weapon nullified on opening night

Warriors are up against it after home defeat by Northampton Saints

Glasgow Warriors captain Stafford McDowall on the attack against Northampton Saints during the Investec Champions Cup match at Scotstoun. Northampton won 28-19. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

Glasgow Warriors are already playing catch-up in Pool 3 of the Investec Champions Cup and captain Stafford McDowall believes they’ll need to win all three of their remaining group games if they are to qualify for the last 16 and avoid one of the tournament’s big beasts.

Franco Smith’s side will be in the Basque region of France on Friday to take on Aviron Bayonnais in round two as they try to bounce back from their opening loss to Northampton Saints at Scotstoun. An away game against a Top 14 side is no-one’s idea of a picnic but this is Bayonne’s first time in Europe’s top tournament and they only scraped in by finishing a point ahead of Castres in eighth place in last season’s French top flight having been promoted the previous year.

The Champions Cup’s new format means that the clubs who finish in the top four in each six-team group qualify for the round of 16. It sounds simple but when you consider Glasgow will also face Exeter Chiefs and Toulon in the new year, and that Munster are the other team in Pool 3, then you get an idea of the scale of the task facing the Warriors. McDowall is confident they can still progress and knows the higher up the group they finish the easier their next assignment will be.

“If you’re sitting in that fourth slot, you’re going to have a tough away game [in the last 16], to a French team or Leinster, probably,” said the centre. “They are probably all must-win from now, if you want to get a decent draw. We’ll back ourselves against anyone. The way we play, we know we can take anyone on our day. This is the first time we’ve experienced Champions Cup rugby under Franco, and we know that if you’re one per cent off it, these top teams are going to punish you.”

That’s what happened at Scotstoun on Friday as Northampton came up and did a job on the Warriors, effectively winning the game in the first half as they stifled the home side’s maul and snaffled three good tries through Courtney Lawes and Tommy Freeman (2). They led 22-5 at the break and went on to win 28-19 despite a late flourish from Glasgow. Lawes, the England veteran, was instrumental, ensuring the home side were unable to profit from their maul which was the source of five tries against Munster the previous week. McDowall admitted it had been a steep learning curve.

“The teams we played in the Challenge Cup last year were good, but this is the top level of European rugby,” he said. “You make one mistake and you’re going to get punished. The way they defended our set-piece, they knew that if they stopped our maul and stopped us attacking off that platform, it goes a long way. The way Courtney Lawes disrupted that side of it was probably the main reason they won the game. When we get that set-piece going, we can attack to width.”

Glasgow’s wingers did score two good tries – Seb Cancelliere after winning an interception in the fourth minute and Ollie Smith late on with a smart chip and go – and there was a penalty try too near the end but the gap was too big to close.

McDowall has played every minute of every game for Glasgow this season and after eight matches in a row is probably due a rest but the centre is desperate to continue. He spent two seasons on the fringes under previous coach Danny Wilson and has no desire to sit out the Bayonne game.

“I don’t want to take a break ever,” he said. “I love playing for this club and I had two years when I didn’t have the opportunity to play at all, so any opportunity I get to play, I want to. Obviously it’s Franco’s decision to make, not mine, but I’m here and ready.

“The game was tiring because there was a lot of running about, but we are managed well during the week and get looked after. Sione [Tuipulotu] will be back in the mix next week and with Huw [Jones] back fit as well, it’s probably the first time this season we have had all three centres to choose from.

“That was my eighth game in a row. I still want to play. I’m not feeling any element of fatigue or tiredness. We were still running the ball after 75 minutes. We are a fit team.”