‘Man test’: Glasgow Warriors issued with no shirking message ahead of ‘massive opportunity’

A victory over the powerful South African franchise would see the Warriors stay at Murrayfield for the final on June 20, which would be against the winners of the Leinster-Stormers semi.

It is an enviable position to be in and one Glasgow richly deserve after finishing top of the URC standings after the 18-game regular season. Their reward is home ties for as long as they remain in the play-offs, even if they have had to uproot from their regular Scotstoun base which is now being readied for the Commonwealth Games.

Nigel Carolan, the Warriors’ attack coach, is acutely aware that they didn’t take full advantage of playing at home in the European Champions Cup earlier this year and were eliminated at Scotstoun by Toulon in the quarter-finals. They’ve already gone one step further in the URC, beating Connacht in the last eight on Friday.

Time to cash in

Carolan says the Bulls will pose a huge physical test but expects his players to step up.

“It’s been a real squad effort right from the start of the season and there have been a lot of players used,” said the coach. “So it's on us now to cash in on this massive opportunity and it's a great position against really tough opposition. It’s what you want in a semi-final.

“Plan A when you play the Bulls is it's going to be a man test and there's no shirking that. If you don't match it you're in trouble. They bring a tremendous amount of physicality. But for us, what we've seen over the last two occasions we've played them here, albeit at Scotstoun, we've definitely matched them in that department and then it allows us to play the game we know we can and that's where we score our tries.”

Glasgow famously beat the Bulls in their own backyard in the URC final at Loftus Versfeld two years ago. They have also had the upper hand this season, beating them 21-12 in the league in October and 25-21 in the last 16 of the Champions Cup in April.

Foreign territory

“We've just got to keep our feet on the ground,” added Carolan. “It's about not getting ahead of ourselves. I think it's very important that we don't play the occasion. It is foreign territory for us to have a home semi-final – when we won the URC we had to do it the hard way [playing both semi and final on the road]. That does keep you on edge.

“We've got to make sure that we control the things that we can control this week, which is our preparation. Our focus is purely on how to beat the Bulls and the game that we need to put on the field to beat them as well rather than getting caught up in the occasion.

“At the back of your head, you're still thinking we've put ourselves in a really good position as we did with the Champions Cup this year. But we saw that it came back to bite us. We've got to make sure that we cash in on the opportunity.”

One concern for Glasgow ahead of Saturday is the hand injury sustained by George Horne in the win over Connacht. The talismanic scrum-half had to come off in the second half of the 33-21 win and it remains to be seen if he will recover from the bruising in time for the Bulls clash. Carolan said he would be given every chance.

‘A little bit bruised’

“I'd say if George lost his two arms and one of his legs, he'd still want to play at the weekend,” he said. “George is still fighting. He won't train today [Monday], he's just a little bit bruised but we're going to give him every chance to get back for Saturday.

“He's doing alright, he's just a little bit tender. At the moment we're preparing and planning that he's available.”

Jamie Dobie could also be available. Carolan said the scrum-half/wing was “very close to a return”, giving Glasgow another international option at nine. Dobie has not played since injuring his shoulder in Scotland’s win over England in the Six Nations on February 14.

Huw Jones is back

“Yes, we'd be hopeful that one or both could be available,” Carolan said of the two frontline scrum-halves, before also making a case for Jack Oliver, the young Glasgow nine who replaced Horne against Connacht, and Ben Afshar, another option if he can overcome injury. “Even for the last 20 minutes, young Jack Oliver in our academy, he stepped up to the plate. I thought he had really good control. Ben Afshar, he's learning. He got injured a few weeks ago but he's back training now as well. We've developed a lot of players but when you've got George on the field and Jamie Dobie, they're two of the best at what they do. To have one or both of them on the field with us will give us the best chance of success.”

Huw Jones has also returned to training after a foot problem, although the form shown by Stafford McDowall suggests he will be difficult to dislodge at outside centre.

Over 10,000 tickets have been sold already and Carolan appealed for all Scottish rugby supporters to get behind the Warriors on Saturday, regardless of where their club loyalties lie.

“The cry has gone out: we need as much support as we can,” he said. “It's obviously a big stadium and the more support we get not only from Glasgow but from the rest of Scotland is going to aid our cause and create a really good atmosphere.”