Glasgow coach Franco Smith lifts lid on South Africa preparation and hails youngsters as 'future of Scotland'

Warriors in good place after bonus-point win at Zebre but tough tests await in southern hemisphere

Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith with Gregor Brown after the win over Zebre in Parma on Saturday. Pic: Luca Sighniolfi/INPHO/Shutterstock (14452500ap)

Four points clear at the summit with three games to go before the play-offs, Glasgow Warriors are exactly where they want to be as the United Rugby Championship edges towards the knockout phase.

Saturday’s 40-9 victory in Italy over Zebre combined with Leinster’s second consecutive defeat in South Africa meant the top two swapped places at the weekend and Franco Smith’s side have now won more games - 12 - than any other team in the division.

It’s Glasgow’s turn to go to South Africa next and they will fly to the republic a week on Tuesday to face the Bulls and the Lions in what looks like being their two toughest league fixtures of the season. The Bulls in particular look to be coming to the boil at the right time. They thrashed the Ospreys 61-24 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday to strengthen their grip on fourth place, with Springboks wings Kurt Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie both notching try doubles.

A trip to his homeland is unlikely to faze Smith who gives the impression that every step of Glasgow’s season has been meticulously planned well in advance. With no game this weekend, his team will train and rest in preparation for the long haul flight.

“We will be training on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday then we’ll give them a long weekend,” said the Warriors head coach. “We want to give them a little bit of time before we go away, but we need to mentally get the job done and make sure we train properly. That’s the benefit of not being involved in Europe at the moment. We make the most of the opportunity that it presents.

“It’s a different challenge. We’ve been prepping a long time to go down to South Africa to be ready for that challenge. The important thing now is to get properly recovered and very well organised and hopefully they guys will understand what type of pressure we are going to face.”

Coping with the heat, altitude and physicality of playing in South Africa is always going to be difficult for northern European teams. Glasgow lost to the Sharks and Lions away last season in the early days of Smith’s reign. They fared no better in the 2021-22 campaign under Danny Wilson when they went down to the Stormers and Bulls.

This year’s model seems more durable. Smith was able to make nine changes to his team for the Zebre game and still come away with a bonus-point win. True, it took them a little time to break down stuffy opponents but try doubles from hooker Gregor Hiddleston and captain Kyle Steyn saw them take control before late scores from Jamie Dobie and George Horne added some gloss.

The form of Hiddleston has been particularly pleasing given Smith has had to dig deep for hookers this season. Fraser Brown announced his retirement last week, George Turner was injured during the Six Nations, Johnny Matthews damaged his ankle in the win over the Sharks last weekend and Angus Fraser is out with concussion. Hiddleston stepped up impressively and, along with Max Williamson and Euan Ferrie, offered plenty of reasons for optimism.

“These young boys are the future of Scotland, we need to grow them and get them better,” said Smith. “It’s games like these that take them from being boys to men. It’s very important for them to perform well, and there was some good stuff in that regard.”