Glasgow Warriors aim to double down as they hit the road in Challenge Cup opener at the Rec

Glasgow Warriors’ long run without an away win in the league was ended in Italy at the weekend and the aim now is to follow it up with another victory when they open their Challenge Cup campaign against Bath on Saturday.

Glasgow's Kyle Steyn hands off Zebre's Enrico Lucchin's during the Warriors' win in Parma. Photo by Luca Sighinolfi/INPHO/Shutterstock

The 45-17 triumph over Zebre was Glasgow’s first on the road in the United Rugby Championship since January. They managed to beat Newcastle Falcons away in the Challenge Cup in April and return to the European stage to take on a Bath side who are struggling domestically, with last Friday’s home defeat by Harlequins leaving them fourth from bottom of the English Premiership.

Kyle Steyn, the Glasgow captain, played his part in Parma and admits his side’s poor run of away form got him down.

“Yeah, it did,” he said. “Certainly this season it has, just because it’s quite a strange thing sometimes when you sit in reviews and you’ve played home and away and you try and unpick it - because it just looks like two completely different sides. So it was awesome to go down to Zebre, pick up a win, and deal with the elephant in the room a little bit.

Kyle Steyn trains at Scotstoun ahead of Glasgow Warriors' Challenge Cup tie against Bath. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

“It’s a different competition, but we’ve picked up an away win against Zebre, and being able to double down on that would be massive in terms of solidifying some of the belief within the squad. And two wins are better than one and great for momentum. I’ve never been to Bath, but the atmosphere at the Rec looks awesome. So I’m looking forward to it.”

The big win in Parma has set up Glasgow nicely for a hugely important run of fixtures which will see them play back-to-back Challenge Cup matches - Perpignan visit Scotstoun six days after the Bath game - and the traditional festive double-header with Edinburgh. After the autumn Test break, the spotlight falls back on the clubs and Steyn thinks the Warriors are in a good position to kick on.

“This time of year is crunch time every year, so you know how important momentum is,” he said. “It’s a great time of year for rugby: we’ve got Europe, we’ve got the 1872 Cup, all the big moments this half of the season, all the games you want to play in. You do try to peak this time.”

Steyn has embraced the captaincy since being appointed by new coach Franco Smith at the start of the season and, after overcoming a niggling hamstring injury, he is now a regular fixture again in the backline, even if his set position is not quite nailed on.

“Centre is my preference but I suppose I’ve played so much on the wing that I don't really mind,” he said. “Going from centre to wing is quite easy, but I suppose it works both ways. When you are playing centre you get an understanding of what your wingers want from you and it’s the same when you go to the wing - you know how to communicate a little better with your 13s and get what you want from them.”