Franco Smith plays it cool over injuries for crunch games

However, in his final analysis the Glasgow Warriors coach was hopeful that the damage will not have a significant bearing on the team’s chances against Scarlets in next weekend’s Challenge Cup semi-final in Llanelli.

Huw Jones, Jamie Dobie and Cole Forbes all picked up knocks in this final game of the regular URC season, while Sione Tuipulotu, George Turner and Sebastian Cancelliere are among the nine players who missed that match due to injury.

However, all those players are expected to come back into the frame either next weekend or the weekend after when Munster visit Scotstoun in the play-off quarter-finals of the URC.

The concussion suffered by in-form Jones is the biggest concern, but Smith said the initial assessments had been encouraging.

“He hasn’t had problems in the past with head injuries so we’ll see how he progresses during the week,” the South African said. “Huw has started the return-to-play process and it’s quite positive for him.

“Jamie Dobie has a knee issue and is being assessed bur hopefully it’s not too serious.

“Cole Forbes had a tweaked hamstring, so we’ll see how he looks on Monday.”

While those injuries left the Warriors back line short-handed on Saturday night, Smith said he had had no concerns about back-rower Matt Fagerson filling in as a centre.

“There is always one loose forward who we prep to fill in as a back in case of an emergency, so it wasn’t a gamble to go with only two backs on the bench,” he said.

“Some people may have noticed that Matt actually won a turnover while playing at centre, so it wasn’t a case of ‘getting away with it’, we actually brought on a player who was able to do the role and contribute something significant to the team.”

Saturday’s game – effectively a dead-rubber for Warriors given that they were already guaranteed fourth place in the URC table at the end of the regular season – was always going to be a delicate balancing act between protecting players and refreshing key men ahead of the knock-out matches they now face in two competitions weighed against maintaining winning momentum.

However, that is not the kind of conundrum which would bother the cool and calculating Smith, who explained that he regarded this match as just another piece in a giant jigsaw which he started strategising his way through at the start of the season.

“Nothing we do is a gamble. It is all planned and prepared,” he said. “I know that in play-offs there are usually injuries and we must be ready for that.”

Despite the win, Smith felt his side did not hit their full potential against Connacht, but he is sure they can up their game next week.

“This was the end of the round-robin for us, and our mind-set was maybe not yet into a cup final mode, like theirs was,” he said. “Connacht were playing for a [guaranteed] place in the Heineken Cup, which we already had, so they were throwing themselves at it to get maximum reward.

“I think that’s why we got a couple of bumps and bruises. They were physically better than us, they dominated us at maul time, and they defended well.

“But we stuck to the task and are happy to take the win. We’re now going into play-off rugby.”

Glasgow beat Munster away just four weeks ago, but Smith insisted that will have little bearing on the play-off clash the two teams are now set to play at Scotstoun in a fortnight.

“They came back from a 50-point loss to the Sharks in the Champions Cup to draw with them in the URC on Saturday, so we know they can turn around performances and results,” he pointed out.

“They have quality in their squad, and they know how to play play-off rugby – they’ve been in the play-offs forever.

“So, our result there doesn’t count. It will not even be something that we bring up in our conversations.

“We’ll use some of the video footage from that game, but we know it’s going to be a one-off battle here.”