'Feels like ...': Glasgow Warriors react to epic draw as Franco Smith gives verdict on George Horne moment

Their first home outing of the new URC season saw last season’s beaten semi-finalists hold on for the stalemate having been reduced to 13-men in the final ten minutes with Rory Darge and Sam Talakai in the sin bin. However, they also had a chance to win the game when George Horne’s late penalty came back off the inside of the post with the scores level.

“I think it's a bit of both [frustration and disappointment],” said Smith on his emotions after the result. “It feels like a loss, but it's definitely not a loss. We've got enough points out of this, and enough lessons learned that will serve us very well in what needs to happen next.

“We should have done more in the first half” - Glasgow head coach Franco Smith reacts to Ulster draw

“I think we should have done more in the first half. I always knew that we were going to accelerate in the second part of the game.

“I thought when the second group came on, they made the difference, they brought the impact. I thought there was more flow to our attack than there was last week.

“I think there's lessons to be learned from the defence, our physicality and movement around the breakdown, not to get too technical this evening, but there's some very good lessons learned tonight, which I'd rather learn at the start of the season without losing, than later in the season in a more important game. This is a journey and a process, so I'm happy that we take enough points out of this anyway.”

On Horne’s missed penalty, the South African added: “I'll never blame a kicker, having been one myself. You get it sometimes right and you get it sometimes wrong.

“He made some incredible kicks this evening anyway to put us in that position. That is my feeling, it's not about what we could have scored, I think we could have prevented them from scoring more.”

Arguably the biggest frustration should be the three yellow cards which Warriors received throughout the 80 minutes. Dan Lancaster went off in the first half for a deliberate knock on before Darge and Talakai’s sin binnings.

However, Smith was quick to absolve the players of any blame, saying: “We just succumbed to pressure. Despite that, we were applying ourselves so well on the line there and through a lot of phases, so I'm proud of that effort.

“The pressure that we were under led to those yellow cards, but that's not a discipline issue, it's a desperate start of the season issue. Again, if they weren't coming in our half that easily, we probably wouldn't have let that happen.”

The Warriors head coach had praise for winger Kyle Rowe, who lit up the match with a superb individual try. Smith said that although some may see the Scotland international as ‘underrated’, he has never felt that.

“I've never underrated him,” said Smith. “I think he's a class player, a very good person. He adds value, it doesn't matter where he plays. He's so calm and controlled in the way he plays. He's a real asset for us, the way he finished the one try tonight was spectacular, so I'm really proud of the way he contributes.”

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