'Completely different side at home' - warning for Glasgow Warriors ahead of Murrayfield test

Franco Smith has warned his Glasgow Warriors players that Edinburgh are a very different side at home as they look to do the 1872 Cup double over their ancient rivals at Murrayfield on Saturday.

This fixture has been played for 152 years but it is hard to recall a bigger gulf between the sides than was evident in last week’s first leg at Hampden. The final scoreline of 33-14 barely did justice to Glasgow’s dominance and it was only a couple of late tries from sub prop Boan Venter that gave it a veneer of respectability from Edinburgh’s point of view.

Nevertheless, Smith is taking nothing for granted. Edinburgh recovered from a first leg defeat at Scotstoun last season to win the return 19-14 and although the Warriors coach did not dwell on the defeat, he has reminded his players about it.

Glasgow's Sione Tuipulotu and Jamie Dobie celebrate during the win over Edinburgh at Hampden Park. Dobie will start the second leg at Murrayfield. | SNS Group

“It’s slightly irrelevant, but we still referred to it this week, in the sense that we know they’re a top team, a quality team, and at home they’re a completely different side,” said Smith. “So we know there’s a lot of motivation that has gone into their preparation this week.

“We did refer to that. That was 19-14, a last-minute try unfortunately left us talking through the season. When it came to the play-offs we had regrets. There were two or three log points left out there.

“It came into discussions, but in a positive way, not in a negative way.”

Smith was notably irked at Hampden last weekend by the concession of the late tries but they could serve a useful purpose for Glasgow by extinguishing any notion of complacency. The Warriors switched off to allow Venter to score from two tap penalties and although the game was already won, the coach expects better.

“The 14 points that we gave away at the back end of the game was enough motivation this week,” Smith added. “We know how easy that can happen.

“We expect them to be even better than they were last time. They will be in front of their home crowd and they will be very determined to put things right. We expect a tough battle.”

Edinburgh's Darcy Graham is tackled by Glasgow Warriors' Kyle Steyn and Huw Jones during the 1872 Cup first leg at Hampden. | SNS Group

Johnny Matthews, a scorer of two Glasgow tries at Hampden, has been ruled out with a leg injury but Smith played down its seriousness. Gregor Hiddleston replaces him at hooker. The only other change to the XV is at scrum-half where Jamie Dobie starts ahead of George Horne. There is a welcome return to the bench for Rory Darge as Smith keeps faith with the same back row of Ally Miller, Matt Fagerson and Jack Mann.

Glasgow have won the 1872 Cup in each of Smith’s previous two seasons at the helm and there is little to suggest the outcome will be any different this time given their 19-point advantage from the first leg. Asked what was more important to him, retaining the 1872 Cup or picking up four or five URC points, Smith smiled: “Well, both will be very good! For now, the focus is on being the best version of ourselves, keep on progressing.

“It's been a long year and a quality year for us but you're only as good as the last game that you've played so we will have to be fully engaged. And like I said, our mission is the URC trophy, it's not just against one specific team. So for Saturday, it's another opportunity to become better and to back up last week's performance.”

Edinburgh: W Goosen; D Graham, M Currie, M Tuipulotu, D van der Merwe; R Thompson, A Price; B Venter, D Cherry, D Rae, S Skinner, G Gilchrist (capt), J Ritchie, L Crosbie, B Muncaster. Replacements: P Harrison, P Schoeman, J Sebastian, M Sykes, H Watson, C Shiel, B Healy, J Lang.

Glasgow Warriors: K Rowe; S Cancelliere, H Jones, S Tuipulotu, K Steyn (capt); T Jordan, J Dobie; J Bhatti, G Hiddleston, Z Fagerson, G Brown, S Cummings, A Miller, M Fagerson, J Mann. Replacements: G Stewart, R Sutherland, S Talakai, A Samuel, R Darge, A Fraser, G Horne, D Weir.

Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU).