'Almost unthinkable' - John Barclay weighs in on 'absurd' Glasgow Warriors situation

Glasgow Warriors have earned the right to have ‘home’ advantage for this year’s showpiece match, should they reach it, but have found themselves in a situation where no suitable Scottish stadiums would be available. That includes the 67,000 plus home of Scottish Rugby which is being used for a concert by country singer Zach Bryan just six days prior to the scheduled fixture date.

Scottish Rugby have been holding talks about the possibility of turning Murrayfield around in that time frame in order to host the match, with the main issue understood to be around de-rigging the stage, but no official statement has been made. Barclay believes an army of Warriors’ supporters would gladly volunteer to assist in that process and also called the idea of Glasgow playing a ‘home’ final at Belfast’s Affidea Stadium, their preferred venue if Murrayfield isn’t available, “absurd”.

“Home finals don’t happen very often” - John Barclay says Scottish Rugby must have Murrayfield ready for URC final

“Unless I'm mistaken, the issue was with getting rigging down and a stage down after a concert,” said Barclay. “If that is the reason then I would probably imagine there's a couple of thousand Glasgow fans that would drive through and help.

“I think that would almost be unthinkable to think it was a logistical thing rather than a cost issue. I think home finals don't happen very often. Do everything you can to make sure it happens. The thought of playing a home final in Belfast or wherever is absurd to me.”

Of course, Warriors have to first reach the final for any of that to be an issue and Franco Smith and his players have made it clear they are not looking past their next opponents. They host Connacht at Scotstoun in the first of the four play-off quarter-finals on Friday night and Barclay is expecting a tough test for them against one of Europe’s most in-form teams.

“They've been brilliant over the course of the last number of months,” added Barclay. “Beating Edinburgh in the last game of the season, it was just another tick in the box for them more than anything.

“Edinburgh had nothing to play for, Connacht had everything to play for, but it was really impressive that they just delivered it. They knew they had to win and ideally win with a bonus point and then they did everything they could and it fell that way. Ulster lost, so it all worked out.

“I've been really impressed by them. I've watched them in the last couple of weeks and watched them against Edinburgh and was mightily impressed. My takeaway from the game was that no one would feel that comfortable playing them, despite the fact that they're eighth in the league.”

“If he is the Scotland coach to be...” - Franco Smith the leading candidate to replace Gregor Townsend?

If Warriors can make it all the way in the play-offs and win the final, wherever it is held, that would cement Smith’s legacy as their greatest ever head coach. Barclay believes it would also make him the number one candidate to be the next Scotland boss after Gregor Townsend.

“I've said all along I'm a big admirer of Franco. I think what he's done at Glasgow is brilliant. The way he gets them going, motivates them, he’s built a culture, made them resilient and all the things you want in a good rugby team.

“I know he's just re-signed his contract for another two years after this one so he's hopefully going to be around. He's made a significant impact on Glasgow and at some stage, if he is the Scotland coach-to-be... I know it's not necessarily as straightforward as ‘oh you're good at Glasgow, you'll be good at Scotland’. It's slightly different but based on the evidence we have, it would look like he would do a pretty decent job of that.”

Scotland have some big matches coming up this summer and Barclay sees the play-offs as a good opportunity for even more Glasgow players to grab the attention of Townsend, adding: “Winning a quarter-final at home would be part one of that. To go on to get to a final and perform well, that definitely helps a number of players.”

Enhancing the matchday broadcast experience, Premier Sports will host an interactive Player of the Match vote during Friday night’s Glasgow Warriors v Connacht quarter-final. Fans can vote via an on-screen QR code to select the official winner from a shortlist.

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