Glasgow Warriors Coach Franco Smith Embraces Champions Cup Opener Against Sale Sharks

Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith expressed enthusiasm for his team’s opportunity to be “measured against the best” as they commence their Champions Cup journey at home against Sale Sharks on Saturday. For the fixture at Scotstoun, Smith has selected a robust lineup, which includes the return of captain Sione Tuipulotu, alongside players such as Huw Jones, Zander Fagerson, and Rory Darge. Sale and Glasgow, who are the reigning URC champions, are both placed in Pool 4 of the tournament, alongside Harlequins, Racing 92, Stormers, and Toulon. Smith conveyed to BBC Scotland that “It’s a great competition to be part of and it comes at the right time of the year.” He further added, “It’s also exciting to play against players from the Premiership and French competition to make sure we keep on learning, get better and we want to be measured against the best.” Sale currently holds the sixth position in the English Premiership standings and has announced England flanker Tom Curry in their initial lineup, alongside Scotland internationals Gus Warr and Arron Reed. Smith commented, “Every time you play a team you’re not used to playing that often in your environment or competition, it makes it a different challenge.” He elaborated on Sale’s strengths, stating, “They’ve got a huge pack of forwards, they’ve got good line speed on the defence, a good kicking game and are a bunch of physical players both sides of the ball, so it’s going to be a big challenge.” Glasgow will pause their URC schedule, where they currently rank second behind Leinster with five victories from seven matches. Smith emphasized the importance for his squad to progress further than their league championship win last season. The South African coach remarked, “It’s important for us to keep setting the standards and keep improving on what we’ve done before, from a statistical perspective but also from a mentality and physical approach.” He concluded, “To be competitive in this sport now, you need to be on it every week, stick to our process and concentrate on what we can do well, be the best we can be and there’s no better place to measure it than this competition.”