A Glasgow Warriors URC triumph on Highveld will depend on one key factor

It was probably the best performance by Glasgow Warriors during Franco Smith’s tenure.

There have been more spectacular ones, but nothing more impressive than winning the URC semi-final in Limerick, all the more so because Munster were on a run of victories and Thomond Park has been a stronghold rarely conquered.

What was most satisfying was the intelligence Glasgow showed, and their resilience after the really alarming first ten minutes when Munster were rampant and Glasgow conceded a raft of penalties.

Glasgow Warriors prop Zander Fagerson continues to impress with his performances and stamina.

It was reasonable to fear a drubbing in these early minutes, especially when the referee, patience exhausted, consigned Richie Gray to the sidelines for ten minutes. One couldn’t reasonably question this decision, unlike the yellow card given to Matt Fagerson just before the interval when it seemed that the Munster player had dipped into what would otherwise have been a tackle just above the waist.

Happily, when Gray departed, Munster opted to kick a goal rather than continue their previously relentless attack. The balance shifted. A poor Munster line-out and a great run from Sione Tuipolutu all but produced a try

“Defence wins matches” is an old adage, and often a justified one, certainly last Saturday. If Kyle Steyn’s runaway try came out of the blue, the wild Munster pass which he scooped off the ground to scamper half the length of the field was provoked by the intensity of Glasgow’s midfield defence. Then, when a team has to do a lot of defending, it’s important to seize any opportunity to counter attack and this is just what Tom Jordan did when, fielding a kick in the twenty-two he spotted a gap and ran. Three beautiful passes resulted in a truly beautiful try. If it wasn’t a “try from the end of the world”, it wasn’t that far off.

From that moment Glasgow had the match won – if they didn’t let it slip. Defence again prevented this when the great Simon Zebo seemed likely to score, only being prevented by a great covering tackle from Huw Jones which forced him into touch

Tom Jordan may not be as flamboyant as some fly-halves but he continues to shine for Warriors.

It was a great team performance and as is usual on such occasions it seems invidious to pick out individuals. Nevertheless the Glasgow back row of Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey and Matt Fagerson were terrific, as was the elder Fagerson, Zander who unusually for a prop, played the full 80 minutes. He must now be as good a tight-head as there is in Europe.

I should mention Tom Jordan, partly because I have in the past wondered if he is really a fly-half, rather than an inside centre. Well, he may not be a fly-half like Finn Russell or Romain Ntamack who ghosts through invisible spaces, but he has become a very effective one and for the second week in succession he had a very fine controlling game.

Well, Glasgow now have to do it again in the final against the Bulls in Pretoria, where they lost more heavily than the final score might suggest a few weeks ago.

Since the URC came into being, it has become quite common for the South African sides to lose in the Northern Hemisphere, but rare for then not to win at home. Last week they beat Leinster and we might, however reluctantly admit that, week-in week-out Leinster are a better team than Glasgow, just as Ireland are better than Scotland.

The Bulls showed just how strong they are by taking down Leinster at home.

Yet the Bulls, playing at home to land the silverware, haven’t been overwhelming, beating first Benetton 30-23 and then Leinster 25-20. Glasgow beat the Stormers 27-10 at Scotstoun and then Munster 17-10 in Limerick, this result making them the only club to have won away from home in the play-offs.

Accordingly, even while the Bulls must be favourites to win the final on home ground, and the odds may not quite be even, there is no reason to write Glasgow off.

Winning in Pretoria is a tough challenge, but so was winning in Limerick. Much on the Highveldt may depend on the performance of the respective benches – it would be remarkable if Zander Fagerson played for mush more than an hour at altitude – but Glasgow are a team whose defence is much improved while they remain capable of scoring tries from anywhere.

One may think it wrong that the final shouldn’t be played on neutral ground, but that’s how it is. If Glasgow win on Saturday, it would be an achievement comparable to Scotland winning at the Stade de France – and many of their players have done just that.

Fraser Brown’s view on Glasgow Warriors’ clash with Bulls