URC final: Glasgow Warriors must ‘step up’ away to Bulls

A big ask. That’s the phrase being used over and over by pundits as Glasgow Warriors visit the Bulls’ backyard for Saturday’s United Rugby Championship final.

Travelling close to 9,000 miles with just a week’s notice, playing at altitude in Pretoria against hugely physical opponents, who are the league’s highest scorers by a distance.

Throw in 50,000 raucous home fans and the fact Glasgow haven’t won in South Africa since 2018 and you see why the ask is considered so big.

Warriors head coach Franco Smith said: “I’m South African, so I know how their hearts beat and I know how the blood goes through their veins and I know how they desperately want to succeed.”

Having overcome Munster at Thomond Park last time, Smith thinks his team will need to surpass that effort.

“It’s comparable, but we definitely see this as a different challenge and we must step up if we want to be competitive until the end,” he said.

“There was 20,000 Irish supporters and it could have been intimidating, but I think we’ve taken a lot from that in our preparation. We know that we’ll face a pretty hostile crowd. It’s just double the number.

“But it’s about focusing on the task in hand and not getting engulfed by the occasion.”

Captain Kyle Steyn echoed those sentiments and said: “We’ve got a really clear plan and a process that we’ve put in place that’s worked for us over the last two weeks.

“I think just focusing on that plan and not getting carried away, just making sure that the focus stays in the moment and you deal with that moment and then you can move on to the next one.”

This is Glasgow’s fourth final since 2014, having been champions in 2015.

Bulls are aiming to become the second South African franchise to win the title, while it is the third successive year the final has been in South Africa.

Bulls head coach Jake White suggests: “We’ve just got to try and do what we do well, what we’ve done well the whole year.

“Munster and Leinster are two incredible sides and Glasgow and the Bulls beat them last weekend.

“One thing about the URC that has been fantastic since it started is that there has been no guarantee that, just because you have a certain amount of players or because you rank higher or because you’re seen by the media as the favourites, it’s not necessarily a given that you should win.”