Glasgow’s South Africa tour will prepare Scotland players – Smith

Head coach Franco Smith believes Glasgow Warriors’ upcoming games in South Africa will be good preparation for his international players ahead of the Autumn Nations Series.

After a bonus-point victory over Zebre in the United Rugby Championship on Friday, Warriors now travel to face the Sharks and the Stormers in the next two rounds.

Glasgow’s internationals will then link up with the national team for the November Tests against Fiji, South Africa, Portugal and Australia.

In terms of the make-up of the squad he will take to South Africa, Smith says he and Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend are on the same page.

“We had a chat six weeks ago, at the start of the season, and I think we’re very much aligned,” Smith told BBC Sport Scotland.

“Our job was now to get everybody as ready as possible. I think two games in South Africa might serve this group of players well, in preparation for tough test matches against Fiji, South Africa, Australia, and I’m not discarding Portugal.

“It’s going to be important to have these players rugby ready to compete at that level.

“South Africa is a tough place to tour and these are both very good teams with some very good players, so it’s a big challenge for us.”