Benetton Rurby v Glasgow Warriors Saturday 4th January 2020

Benetton Rugby v Glasgow warriors
Stadio Monigo
Treviso

Sat 4th Jan 2020
Ko 2pm CET


This is going to be a tricky game for Glasgow and one that they really do need to win if they are going to be in with a shout for the playoffs at the end of the season.It is made even trickier in that SRU rest protocols are likely to kick in and mean a few key players will need to sit this one out, whilst Benetton, being out of the Champs cup and also in need of a win, will fancy this one and load their deck.

Trips to Treviso are rarely straightforward these days for any visitors, but the Italians do still blow hot and cold and have not really hit the heights of last season yet, understandable given the players they gave up for WC duty and who have taken a while to get back up to speed in the league.

Full strength Glasgow, playing the way we played over the two derby games, I feel would win this as despite the result, we did play some of our best rugby of the season so far and you can make a case that the form is starting to come along a bit. Unfortunately we have left ourselves with an awful lot to do.

So who will we see in the matchday squad? My guess is something like this:

1. Seuili
2. Turner
3. Nicol - whoes confidence will no doubt be shot after not moving off the bench for the past three games!
4. Gray - both him and Cummings need a rest in all honesty but can we go out and win there with neither of them?
5. Swinson - would go for McDonald but he may still be injured
6. Harley
7. Gordon - really deserves a start
8. Wilson
9. Horne G
10. Horne P
11. Tagive
12. Johnson
13. Jones - has not played that much, so may not need to rest
14. Steyn
15. Jacko

Subs:

Keeble
Stewart
A TH prop - not sure about this one as I think Rae and Nuke are still injured, an academy TH?
Davidson - deserves a chance
Ashe
Dobie
Grigg
Niko

So Cummings, Hastings, Brown and Fagerson Z to get a rest in this one and fagerson M still suspended.

If you work on the basis of the publicity pictures released by the club giving clues as to who will be playing, then Horne G and Jones H should both be playing!

Gee, I think you have missed the fact that Batman has played in the last 8 matches now and probably needs to be rested .
DR really is the anti Tombola, he plays the same 23 until he can't. The problem is who comes in if noone has any form or match fitness? Gray and Cummings need a rest, Ragnar too, Cully and Batman ditto. How many of them will be replaced by match fit players?
There are too many players playing far too little rugby for my liking. Either we play what will basically a second XV in a match which is crucial to our league season OR we play the first XV and then have to rest half of them against Execeterr next week.
DR's tenure has been punctuated by these problems and he doesn't seem to have got to grips with managing players' rest requirements.

jimbopip wrote:Gee, I think you have missed the fact that Batman has played in the last 8 matches now and probably needs to be rested .
DR really is the anti Tombola, he plays the same 23 until he can't.  The problem is who comes in if noone has any form or match fitness?  Gray and Cummings need a rest, Ragnar too, Cully and Batman ditto. How many of them will be replaced by match fit players?
There are too many players playing far too little rugby for my liking. Either we play what will basically a second XV in a match which is crucial to our league season OR we play the first XV and then have to rest half of them against Execeterr next week.
DR's tenure has been punctuated by these problems and he doesn't seem to have got to grips with managing players' rest requirements.

I don't disagree with that Jim, unfortunately every game has become must win now and he clearly only trusts certain players. As a tactic though, it does not and was never going to work over a season with so many of his chosen few having international commitments.

Glasgow Warriors team to play Benetton in the Guinness PRO14, Saturday 4 January, kick-off 1pm (UK time), live on Premier Sports 2. You can follow the action in the Live Match Centre on glasgowwarriors.org. Glasgow Warriors appearances in brackets.

1. Aki Seiuli (5)
2. George Turner (42)
3. Adam Nicol (15)
4. Rob Harley (224)
5. Tim Swinson (132)
6. Bruce Flockhart (6)
7. Tom Gordon (13)
8. Ryan Wilson (C) (162)
9. George Horne (50)
10. Pete Horne (163)
11. Niko Matawalu (122)
12. Sam Johnson (59)
13. Nick Grigg (65)
14. Kyle Steyn (21)
15. Ruaridh Jackson (159)
Replacements
16. Grant Stewart (29)
17. Oli Kebble (42)
18. Petrus du Plessis (6)
19. Andrew Davidson (5)
20. Chris Fusaro (173)
21. Nick Frisby (19)
22. Huw Jones (30)
23. Glenn Bryce (24)

Not available due to injury: Siua Halanukonuka (calf), Sean Kennedy (shoulder), Kiran McDonald (hip), Robbie Nairn (knee), D’arcy Rae (hand), Brandon Thomson (calf), Tommy Seymour (head) and DTH van der Merwe (knee and wrist).

Well he has rested the big boys, so it looks like we will give Exeter a crack next week, which is fair, we need to respect the competition.

A few of our squad players get their chance to step up here, particularly in the pack, Gordon and Flockhart in particular and Davidson off the bench.

We look solid enough out in the backs, but there is a worry about not getting enough decent ball.

Dear old Petrus is stepping up to cover the TH slot from the bench. He might need to do that a few more times during the rest of the season if Nuke does not get fit and D'arcy goes to jail!

WTactualFecc?
It's not a bad looking starting side, though when did Nicol,Swinson, Flockhart,Furra, last play?
Petrus benching? WTF!!!
Davidson, Fozzie, Bryce not ring rusty... not at all.
Harley, Batman and Rhuaridh will all probably need to be tested next week.

The Italians will be licking their lips looking at that pack! Could be a long afternoon for Glasgow.

Benetton: Jayden Hayward, Leonardo Sarto, Ratuva Tavuyara, Luca Morisi, Monty Ioane, Tommaso Allan, Dewaldt Duvenage (capt), Abraham Steyn, Giovanni Pettinelli, Sebastian Negri, Federico Ruzza, Irne Herbst, Marco Riccioni, Hame Faiva, Nicola Quaglio
Replacements: Engjel Makelara, Cherif Traore, Tiziano Pasquali, Niccolo Cannone, Eli Snyman, Marco Lazzaroni, Tito Tebaldi, Antonio Rizzi


Glasgow old boy, Leo Sarto lines up opposite Nico!

Oh dear, this has bananna skin written all over it for Glasgow, and Bennetton are no slouches these days, dispatching a 14 man Zebre side with comfort last week.

Having said that, its an oppertunity for the fringe players to put thier hands up and show what they can do with all the movement at Sctstound just now. Culd these fringe players put in thier best Glasgow performance to date and get a much needed win?

tigertattie wrote:Oh dear, this has bananna skin written all over it for Glasgow, and Bennetton are no slouches these days, dispatching a 14 man Zebre side with comfort last week.

Having said that, its an oppertunity for the fringe players to put thier hands up and show what they can do with all the movement at Sctstound just now. Culd these fringe players put in thier best Glasgow performance to date and get a much needed win?

We are kind of hoping that they might!

Benetton have not always played very well when favourites to win either, which you would imagine they would be this weekend. I am hopeful rather than confident!

Matt Smith must have urinated in Cowboy Dave’s shreddies at some point, shame as he did look like he had something about him.

Good luck tomorrow Weegies, I fear you’ll need it with Horne the useless at 10!

MatT Smith looked a terrific prospect. As did Paddy Kelly Robbie Nairn, Andrew Davidson and a few others we have barely seen this season.
Batman starts his NINTH consecutive game tomorrow if he plays next week then surely he's a non runner for the 6 Nations.

Glen Bryce benches tomorrow, the two positions, in the backs, where we've been short are 15&10 yet he's been as visible as Lord Lucan, or Matt Smith.
Can we release DR early?

Does it count as a banana skin tattie if Treviso are favourites?

They're no mugs these days and can't imagine they care overly much about Europe now.

There are a lot of criticisms that can be justly laid at cowboy’s door Jim, I’m just not sure that not selecting Glenn Bryce is one of them - he’s awful!

Fair comment, Llama, but if he's so useless why is he getting paid every month? I'm useless but DR doesn't feel the need to put a wedge into my bank each month.

jimbopip wrote:Fair comment,  Llama, but if he's so useless why is he getting paid every month? I'm useless but DR doesn't  feel the need to put a wedge into my bank each month.

Very good question, I can’t fathom why after his time at Edinburgh anyone felt the need to give him a job as a professional rugby player either! I reckon you’d be better value for money on their payroll, their match day programmes would have much better literary value if nothing else!

Rennie does seem to struggle with using the squad better over the full season of about 28-30 games. He still seems to rest the full team or play the full team.

I guess SR with all its breaks and rest weeks and fewer games doesn't need rotation. Glasgow definately aren't what they were last season. By the end of tomorrow Dragons could be level with them on points.

Llama , but what if Cockets complained that Glasgow had too many international class money for nothing wasters while the Luvvies had to make do with journeyman wastrels like Tigertattie. I might get transferred and be paid in Kath Kidstone vouchers. If I'm not playing for a club I'd rather not play for Glasgow and get paid in square sausage sarnies.

Mrs Pip just got off the interwebs, she asked me how I would feel about not playing for Toulon. I asked if she was hoping for saussison Toulonaisse once a month. Apparently she's not a fan of a big sausage but likes a spicy Merguez once in a while.

That's a pretty good start from Glasgow, keep the ball for 3 mins then score under the posts

7-0 Glasgow

Good start, although no surprise the scrum is getting annihilated.

and another one from a lineout this time, Pete Horne goes over

Then he misses a pretty straightforward conversion

12-0 Glasgow

Glasgow doing things right - keeping it fast and open.

Pete Horne showing why he should never play FH, misses a pen to touch

FFS Horne

Ryan Wilson looks like he may have got one in the eye there

No action taken

Mon the weegies

Benetton get one back from a lineout maul

12-5 Glasgow

Glasgow are playing like men possessed at the breakdown

and in goes Hornito!

19-5 Glasgow and we are playing very well

Benetton all about the scrums and the maul, they are strong there

YC to Glasgow for persistent scrum offences, Seuili goes off

Benetton then score

19-12 Glasgow at HT

Keeble coming on might actually help the scrum though

An entertaining game so far and very much a clash of styles. If we can get anything approaching parity in the set piece we could win this as we seem more creative and better at the breakdown. Scrums are killing us though and could cost us the game.

Glasgow's worst nightmare defending scrums on their own line.

Did well defensively there and rode our luck a bit as well

Petrus comes on as well now to shore up then scrum

and the old boy wins a penalty right away

Hornito in once again for the TBP

Great line break from Flockhart and George as ever on the end of it

and Horne finds his kicking boots

26-12 Glasgow

Another great defensive set keeps Benetton out

We definitely want this one!

Benetton get one back, its not done yet

26-19 Glasgow

I know it's not in their nature but Glasgow need to play territory and tighten this up to get the win.

The Benetton prop just laid Nick Grigg out with a high one

Could be a card here

Looks like they got away with that one

Grigg off on stretcher

That didn't help that Grigg is only 4ft 7!

Not sure there was much of an arm wrap - think that was a pen.

RDW wrote:Not sure there was much of an arm wrap - think that was a pen.

Agree led with the shoulder for me, would have made it a kickable pen

Horne!!!!

and PH misses touch again, unforgivable

Just think of how much better the players around him are playing though....

and Niko wraps it up with our 5th try

Done you Edinburgh boys a favour by taking away their BP as well!

31-19 Glasgow