Franco Smith knows Glasgow Warriors far from perfect but hails resilience and George Horne

Franco Smith accepted his Glasgow Warriors team had been less than perfect in their 43-25 win over Leinster on Sunday, but the head coach was relatively pleased with the performance as well as the fact that they had kicked off their URC campaign with a full five-point haul.

George Horne scored a try on his 100th appearance for Glasgow Warriors.

“It was a classic start-of-the-season game,” the South African said. “We made lots of errors, but if you don't try you won't get better. Excited to start the season with a win, and I'm pleased with the defensive resilience.”

Smith singled out George Horne for praise after the Scotland scrum-half came off the bench and scored barely a minute later. “He is a special guy – he works really hard. He's got a great influence on the team and he's a fantastic man. His try was something to remember."

Huw Jones’ try surely came into the same category as the centre – like Horne, just back from the World Cup – finished off a chip ahead by Stafford McDowall. Given that the Warriors were playing penalty advantage at the time, McDowall’s action looked like a no-risk piece of improvisation, but Jones thought otherwise. “Absolutely not,” he said when asked if the kick had been intentional.

Jones also paid credit to Leinster, adding: "That was really hard. They were camped in our half for quite a lot of that second half and there was some unbelievable defence in there. [The victory] gives us loads of confidence. Leinster are a top team. The boys had a great pre-season and we've come out firing."