Glasgow warriors v Southern Kings Friday 1st Nov 2019

Glasgow Warriors v Southern Kings
Friday 1st November
Scoutstoun Stadium
Glasgow

KO 19.35
Live on Premier Sport

After last weekends debacle down in South Wales (no disrespect intended to fans of the Drags) this is a tricky thread to get going. In normal times, I would be posting about a much improved performance and getting the season back on track. There may have been some mitigation for the poor game first up in Bloemfontein and there was enough on show in the Scarlets and Blues fixtures to give us some hope that we were starting to click, but that all vanished in a puff of smoke down in Newport, were we turned in our worst performance in recent memory. To me it was worse that losing to the Kings last season, as at least there, badly though we played, we did show a bit at the end and come back to take 2 BPs.

It does seem that some of our squad players have not stepped up and a few have positively gone backwards, the half backs Thompson and Frisbee in particular.

If ever we needed a fixture to get ourselves back on track this one is it and thankfully the scheduling gods have offered us up the Kings at home, who should, in theory, be our easiest game of the season, though from what we have seen so far, nothing seems to be easy for the warriors at the moment!

Just in time as well, we are told that we will start to get some of our international players back as well and boy do we need them. I am just hoping that they have come back with a bit of fire in the belly and the wish to put right a few wrongs. If they don't get back and up to speed very quickly then our season is gone, in truth it may already be!

So who might we see back, there have been a few hints in the press, so hoping to see a team something like this:

1. Keeble
2. Turner
3. Fagerson Z
4. Harley
5. Cummings
6. Flockhart
7. Gibbins - in all honesty I would prefer Smith or Gordon but don't think they will get picked
8. Fagerson M
9. Horne G
10 Hastings
11. DTH
12. Horne P
13. Jones H - looked a much better bet than any other back when he came on last week
14. Steyn
15. Bryce - I would still like to see other options tried at FB as GB is not the answer

Subs:

Allen
Stewart
Nicol - be interesting to see who gets the nod here
McDonald
Fusaro - also played well when he came on last week, one of the few to do so
Dobie - Keep faith with the kid, who has looked good
Grigg
Nico

It would be another good opportunity to see Jones go back to FB during the second half and see how he gets on, he talked about it but has not yet tried it.

Something needs to change this week though!

if Glasgow can't beat the Southern Kings they're really in trouble!

For what it's worth I can see you running riot this weekend and putting on a bit of a cricket score.

Although I'm not sure how wise it is picking Ally McBeal in the back row, but I'm sure Cowboy Dave knows best.

I assume this joke has been made before, but hey, sue me. Actually knowing how many lawyers we have on here, maybe that's a flippant comment that should be avoided!

Glasgow Warriors team to play Isuzu Southern Kings in the Guinness PRO14, Friday 1 November, kick-off 7.35pmpm, live on Premier Sports 1. You can follow the game in the Live Match Centre at glasgowwarriors.org. Glasgow Warriors appearances in brackets.


1. Oli Kebble (35)
2. Grant Stewart (28)
3. Zander Fagerson (81)
4. Tim Swinson (130)
5. Kiran McDonald (20)
6. Rob Harley (216)
7. Callum Gibbins (c) (38)
8. Matt Fagerson (52)
9. George Horne (42)
10. Adam Hastings (32)
11. DTH van der Merwe (115)
12. Pete Horne (159)
13. Huw Jones (24)
14. Niko Matawalu (116)
15. Glenn Bryce (23)
16. George Turner (34)
17. Alex Allan (94)
18. D’arcy Rae (65)
19. Andrew Davidson (4)
20. Chris Fusaro (168)
21. Jamie Dobie (4)
22. Stafford McDowall (16)
23. Ratu Tagive (5)

The addition of a couple of good half backs makes this team look immediately much better than any other that Glasgow have put out this season.

Zander returns to add a bit of bite to the front row and Swinson comes back into the second row, with Rob Harley dropping back to the blindside.

It is the back line that looks completely different though, with Horne and Hastings coming in at half back and his brother and Shuggy in the centres. Now surely is the time for the real Huw Jones to stand up and show us what we have been missing, boy do we need him.

Good to see Dobie maintaining his education on the bench and good to see Tagive, who has always looked reasonable when he gets a chance. Interestingly he has been included in the euro squad over Rory Hughes.

This team really should be good enough to beat The Kings, no ifs no buts. If we don't show up tomorrow night, then our season really is over!

Glasgow have Leinster home and away still to play this year too.

not to mention that standard 1872 losses coming up!

Glashow seem to have woken up

Just my luck to be working on the night that Glasgow decide to turn up!

5 tries by half time seems a pretty good half and hopefully they can push on for a few more.

5 points are very useful but the confidence a good win will give us may be more important in the longer term!

Very satisfying number 50-0!

Looking forward to watching it tommorrow

Just watched the game, a pretty decent performance and a good win.

Lots of decent performances but I am going to single out Hastings, who really brought some control to Glasgow's game and really does look like he is adding a kicking dimension to his natural running game. which bodes well for them and for Scotland.

George Horne had another great game as well and if he is not starting for Scotland at the beginning of the 6N, then surely Toonie has taken a backhander!

Interesting big Gee - I was at the game and I thought Hastings pretty poor - a lot of indecision and running up blind alleys!

Wee George was great tho

Good performance at last. More internationals back next for Zebre and then on to Europe.

At least Rennie has been respectful enough to properly put the rumours to bed - must have affected his young charges early in the season.

Shugs looking like he's getting back to normal service in flashes at least. Hopefully he can grab each opportunity this season and have a stormer. He's got strong competition from bennett and hutchinson for Scotland. On form though he should be ahead of at least hutchinson though i think bennett has a better all round game.

Shuggy looks at long last that he is injury free and about to have a decent run in the team through the euro games.

He has barely had that throughout his Glasgow career so we may be able to judge him properly once that hsppens.

The competition is good at 13 and all seem to be playing well now. Bennett msy be the perfect bench player though as he has the pace to play wing as well and can also be a point of difference in the centre.

Interesting to see that during the second half Hastings dropped back to FB.

Is this the answer to the FB conundrum for Glasgow and a way of getting Horne, Hadtings and Johnson all on the pitch togeyher this season?

My take on the game was

we beat them up in the forwards

Matt Fagerson should be fined every time he attempts to pass off his left hand, it's like Boris Johnson trying to practice monogamy; it'll never work and everyone else feels icky just thinking about it

Glen Bryce is not the answer at full back he looked "ok" in previous matches but disappeared into the smokescreen when he should have been making hay

Haircut looked confident and in control from the first minute mind, being 10 behind a dominant pack is very different from playing behind a retreating pack

Swinson-McDonald-Davidson-Cummings means Jonny can have a decent rest

Niko is a magician

Lord Stafford is not the finished article and has to be drip fed slowly into the side, for his own good

Wee George is the anti-Frodo...Strider?

Jamie Dobie       precocious is not the word. It is beyond my comprehension that in a couple of seasons one of; him, Aldi Price or Strider will be third choice and struggling for a game  

England lost, Luvvies bottled it and the rugby club look back on track   Normal service has been resumed.

p.s. the small matter of my not having seen the Luvvies latest embarrassment has in no way prevented me making a Solomon like judgement on their abysmal performance. All is well with the world.

Good to hear Glasgow are back to being world beaters having beaten the mighty Southern Kings at home!

The next five Pro14 fixtures should give us a better idea of where we stand in the grand scheme of things.

Zebra away....5 points surely?

Ladyboys at home.... a must win, but we are coming into form.

The double headed Slaughter Of The Effeminates. Actually, I think you might be competitive this year. Which will only make victory all the sweeter.

Zebra at home...another 5 points surely?

17 points out of that would be excellent.

Four wins would be very, very good.

I think beating the Ladyboys is more important in terms of making the play offs, although even this early I don't think we'll top the group, than administering a spanking to the limp wristed pretenders.

Actually, I've just noticed that the Zebra game is on Valentines night I wonder if MrsPip fancies a weekend in Glasgow as a romantic treat?

Good luck with that one Jim!