New surface gives Glasgow Warriors coach cause for concern

Glasgow Warriors coach Matt Taylor. Picture: SNS

Having now trained on the surface a handful of times, the players are enthused by how it allows them to build the pace of the game, and anticipate that this will let them put into practice an even more adventurous style than before.

But not every member of the Warriors management team is jumping for joy at the prospect of Scotstoun becoming a mecca for free-wheeling, no-holds-barred, all-out-attacking rugby.

Defence coach Matt Taylor can be forgiven for being slightly more cautious in his assessment of how the new playing surface is going to impact the flow of matches.

“Talking to people from Saracens, Cardiff and Newcastle, it speeds the ruck ball up, so in attack that is exciting – but defensively it makes me a wee bit more nervous.

“It speeds the game up and that might make defence a bit harder,” he points out.

Warriors got their season off to a flyer with a 36-point victory away to reigning champions Connacht last Saturday night.

They conceded only one try while chalking up six scores at the other end, but Taylor believes there is plenty of scope for improvement this coming weekend.

“It was a great result. We did a lot of good things but we need to improve on a lot of things as well.

“This will be a tougher assignment so we need to get our feet on the ground and be prepared and  motivated to do well,” he added.