Glasgow Warriors land major team boosts ahead of URC semi-final against Bulls

Horne, 31, injured his hand in the quarter-final win over Connacht last Friday but has recovered from bruising as Glasgow field the same backline for the fourth week in a row.

They are also boosted by the return of Jamie Dobie who has not played since injuring his shoulder in Scotland’s win over England in the Six Nations on February 14. Dobie, who can play scrum-half or wing, is on the bench for the Bulls match.

Franco Smith has made one change to his starting XV, with Gregor Hiddleston replacing Johnny Matthews at hooker. Hiddleston came on in the second half against Connacht and his place on the bench is taken by Seb Stephen as Matthews drops out of the matchday 23.

There is also a return to the squad for Adam Hastings, who is named among the replacements. The stand-off, who recently served a two-match suspension, is preferred to Ollie Smith as back-up to Dan Lancaster, the starting 10.

Glasgow have home advantage for the semi-final as a result of finishing top of the table in the regular URC season. The match is being played at Murrayfield because Scotstoun is being readied for the Commonwealth Games. If Glasgow win, the final will also be at Murrayfield, on June 20, against either Leinster or the Stormers who meet in the other semi on Saturday.

Glasgow announced on Thursday that they had sold over 15,000 tickets for the Bulls match and will hope that figure is closer to 20,000 by the time the game kicks off.

The Warriors beat the Bulls in the 2024 URC final but Smith is under no illusions about how tough a game it will be on Saturday.

“We know how strong a challenge the Bulls will pose tomorrow afternoon – they are serial contenders at the business end of the season, have one of the deepest squads in the competition, and will bring a highly physical game plan that we will need to be at our best to meet,” Smith told glasgowwarriors.org.

“Both George and Jamie have worked hard with our medical and physio teams this week to put themselves in the best position possible ahead of tomorrow, with both men eager to give their all for this team.

“We look forward to representing not just Glasgow, but all of Scotland at Scottish Gas Murrayfield tomorrow, and we look forward to hearing the Warrior Nation behind us.”

How the Bulls team looks

The Bulls have named a very strong side and it will be a landmark today for captain Marcell Coetzee and hooker Johan Grobbelaar who will make their 100th and 150th appearances for the club, respectively.

Johan Ackermann, the Bulls head coach, said: “It’s a great privilege to be in the BKT URC semi-final. After a long season there are only four clubs left, and we are grateful to be one of those and to play the number one side. It shows the quality of their players, and we have a lot of respect for what they’ve achieved.

“Added to that is the opportunity to play at an iconic venue like Murrayfield. It will be an amazing day. It’s a good challenge and one we look forward to . . . a game of small margins, I suspect.”

Glasgow Warriors: Josh McKay; Kyle Steyn (capt), Stafford McDowall, Sione Tuipulotu, Kyle Rowe; Dan Lancaster, George Horne; Patrick Schickerling, Gregor Hiddleston, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Alex Samuel, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey. Replacements:, Seb Stephen, Rory Sutherland, Sam Talakai, Jare Oguntibeju, Euan Ferrie, Sione Vailanu, Jamie Dobie, Adam Hastings.

Vodacom Bulls: Willie le Roux; Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Harold Vorster, Stravino Jacobs; Handre Pollard, Embrose Papier; Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, Francois Klopper, Ruan Vermaak, Ruan Nortje, Marcell Coetzee (capt), Elrigh Louw, Cameron Hanekom. Replacements: Marco van Staden, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Wilco Louw, Cobus Wiese, Jeandre Rudolph, Zak Burger, Stedman Gans, Nizaam Carr.

Tickets remain available for the match and can be purchased here.