Glasgow Warriors fans urged to make Hampden roar after Toulouse exploits

Now he hopes the supporters can transfer the buzz to Hampden for the first leg of the 1872 Cup double-header with Edinburgh.

The inter-city rivals will meet at the home of Scottish football this Saturday, with Glasgow looking to hold on to the trophy they have won every season since Franco Smith took over in 2022.

Grant, who joined Smith’s coaching team in the summer, was overwhelmed by the home crowd’s reaction throughout the Champions Cup clash with Toulouse.

“In my professional career, I'd struggle to think of a better atmosphere, it was awesome - like the crowd was jumping,” said Grant, whose specialty is the breakdown and contact area.

Crossing the inter-city divide

“Going in at half-time was, we as a collective - the coaches, the players - it was a really calm environment, there was no panic. And the crowd was still jumping, they weren't despondent, it was loud from minute one to, well, minute 80.

“In the second half it just went up a few levels. So hopefully, from our part, it can help generate the numbers for the weekend because we want as big a crowd as possible against Edinburgh.”

This will be the second time that Glasgow have taken the fixture to Hampden. Last year’s game attracted 27,538 fans, with the Warriors beating their oldest adversaries 33-14. They lost the second leg 10-7 at Murrayfield but retained the trophy on aggregate. Ticket sales for Saturday’s match are around the mid-teens mark and Grant hopes what happened against Toulouse will encourage a few more through the turnstiles.

“It makes such a difference to us, as a team,” he said. “It’s obvious but if you've got a jumping crowd at a home game like that, it will elevate a team, and certainly we are aware of it. You might not pick up on chants or songs or the band, but you'll pick up on an atmosphere, and that's what we had on Saturday. So I really hope we can get as many people to Hampden as possible, it makes such a difference.

“It's a great experience, you know, my kids, 12 and 10 year old girls, were here [at Scotstoun] on Saturday, and they loved it.”

Grant, 38, is a former Edinburgh captain and played for them in several 1872 Cup clashes but has no problem transferring his loyalties to the Warriors.

“My take on it is whatever I'm part of, my allegiance, my passion, my giving is with them,” he said. “So, in the bigger sense, it's never bothered me, whoever I've been with, whether it's Ulster [where he was forwards coach] or now Glasgow, I'm desperate to win. I'm a really competitive person.

“I love rivalries and the pressure they bring as a player and loved these games more than any because you could see the people who didn't like it. For some, it was just too much pressure - ‘if I have a bad game, this guy's going to be ahead of me for Scotland’ or whatever it was. I love that aspect, and it's the same with coaching.”

Glasgow will be without Josh McKay for Saturday after the full-back pulled his hamstring against Toulouse. But the club had better news on winger Kyle Rowe who will not require surgery on the knee injury he sustained against the Scarlets last month.