Rainbow Cup offers fresh start for Glasgow Warriors says Nick Grigg

Glasgow Warriors finished the Guinness Pro14 season strongly and will look to take that form into the Rainbow Cup which kicks off for them on Saturday with a game against Benetton in Italy.

Nick Grigg, centre, is looking forward to the Rainbow Cup. Picture: Craig Williamson/SNS

Danny Wilson’s side won three of their final four Pro14 fixtures, as many as they had won in the previous 12, to finish fourth in Conference A.

The exact composition of the Rainbow Cup remains uncertain with unconfirmed reports from South Africa suggesting their teams will withdraw.

Regardless of the opposition, Glasgow centre Nick Grigg is looking forward to a new challenge.

“The main Pro14 season was up and down and a bit of a rollercoaster for us so this is definitely a fresh start for the team,” said Grigg.

“Everyone has been really positive and looking forward to firing into this new comp. We did really well the year before and we’ve got the players with the potential to get us the wins we want.

“Whoever plays in the Rainbow Cup is good enough to do that. It’s just down to a bit of direction and positivity as we head into the next few weeks.”

The intriguing part of the new tournament is the three law variations that will be trialed - red card replacements, captain’s challenge and goal-line drop-outs.

Allowing a substitute to come on 20 minutes after a player is sent off is the most eye-catching of the law experiments. Grigg is unsure how it will play out but has first-hand experience of this season’s crackdown on discipline.

“There are a lot of cards happening in games these days,” he said. “I thought I was unfortunate to get a yellow card in the Montpellier game. But you’re seeing yellows and reds in a lot of the games.

“So the 20-minute rule is going to force teams to work on their discipline as it’s tough whenever you go down to 14 or 13 men and playing against 15. Some teams could take it the other way and say, ‘well if we get a red card we’re only a man down for 20 minutes’.

“We’ve talked about the changes and been practising the goal line drop-out in training. It doesn't change that much about what we’re planning to do but we’re getting coached through the changes.”

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