Glasgow Warriors roll dice in high-stakes Bayonne tie - onus on youth, George Horne, Matt Fagerson latest

Smith puts faith in squad rotation once more for Champions Cup tie

A crucial Investec Champions Cup match in France would seem an unusual place for experimentation – but Franco Smith has never been one to take the tried and trusted path.

His Glasgow Warriors side head to Bayonne knowing that a victory will likely be essential if they’re to retain notions of qualifying for the knockout phase of the competition following an opening day loss to Northampton Saints. In many people's eyes that's an occasion that calls for all the big guns to be rolled out but Smith has always been a head coach with an eye on the much bigger picture, although on this occasion his selection strategy has also been influenced by a number of injuries plus the unavailability of Enrique Pieretto, who has remained at home awaiting the birth of his first child.

Some of the absentees are also shaped by Scotland’s future requirements – hence no Rory Darge or Scott Cummings – but in other areas it has been Smith’s choice to provide a chance for some of the younger or fringe members of the squad. “It’s a good opportunity to see the value of the Warriors squad that we’ve been working on,” explained the South African, who also welcomes back George Horne at scrum-half and makes the returning Sione Tuipulotu captain with Stafford McDowall rested.

Glasgow Warriors head to Bayonne in the Champions Cup on Friday night.

“The main thing now is that we need to bring through the young Scottish boys. Alex Samuel, Max Williamson and Angus Fraser have all put their hands up, and Ben Afshar is another one of those products that we need to bring through. It’s part of the growth of the club and I speak every week about the need to improve. It’s good to see Gregor Brown back, Ally Miller has been contributing immensely, Tom Gordon and Henko Venter are in and around the main selection anyway and it’s a chance to give Tom a start. We saw last year against Bath that sometimes you must play guys with a bigger aspiration than just winning, and these guys want to establish themselves in the squad by proving their worth. The energy they bring will be fantastic.”

One of those unavailable is Matt Fagerson, who will also miss both legs of the 1872 Cup derby with a head injury. “It’s not that serious, just a little fracture in his eye socket,” explained Smith who also confirmed Greg Peterson will leave the club at the end of the year, bound for San Diego. “That’s a four-week injury. Nothing is displaced. This is just a little fracture with some blood leaking into his eye but anything around the head for us is serious. We just have to manage him and make sure he returns for the matches in January.”

The loss to Saints last week at Scotstoun has given Glasgow little room for error if they’re to stake a claim for a place in the next phase of the Champions Cup. “The mountain is a little bit higher for us because we need to win the next three to give us a very good chance,” agreed Smith. “Like last year, I think 12 points from the four games will give you a very good chance to progress but we aren’t looking at the bigger picture. Our objective is to put up a proper performance away from home.”