Glasgow Warriors highlight phase play as key to beating Stormers rush

Beating the Stormers rush defence will be key to the Glasgow Warriors bid to make a serious push for the URC playoffs

WIN | A VIP Trip to the URC Grand Final, 27 May 2023

Glasgow have a plan for the Stormers

Glasgow assistant coach Nigel Carolan has identified how the Warriors can down the defending URC champions.

“The Stormers are so different to every other team you play against, not only are they the reigning URC champions but they defend in a way which is different,” Carolan told The Scotsman.

“They bring an unbelievable amount of line-speed, it’s almost reckless, and you really need to earn the right to find the space. You do that by taking them through a number of phases and then opportunities will open up.

“It is a great challenge which is really focussing the minds of not only the coaches but also the players.”

The Warriors have plenty of pacey and physical players on hand to try and simulate, the line speed of the Stormers in training.

However, they will also need to work hard at the breakdown in order to actually take it through the phases and prevent the Stormers jackals in both the forwards and backs to get at them.

Warriors preparing for the flood

Glasgow are known for their first strike rugby and it might take some doing to alter their game plan to take it through the phases.

ALSO READ: Cheetahs get timely Bok boost for European tour

The Warriors are hopeful that their training will stand them in good stead.

“We’ve challenged the ‘other team’ to create that picture and simulate as much as possible how hard that line-speed comes during our training runs this week,” he said.

“The defence comes so hard at you that it puts you in a position where you have less time on the ball and have to make quicker decisions. The execution of skills has to be on the money, but when you see the space and you get the ball there, there can be a lot of opportunity as well.

“These opportunities are not necessarily there on the first or second or third phase, but as you take them through the phases the space starts to open up – through them, around them, in behind them.

“We saw when the Stormers played [and lost] at Cardiff a few weeks back that it is very difficult to maintain that level of line-speed for every phase, and eventually they get a bit clustered, the backfield gets compromised, and space opens up. We just have to be patient, take them through the phases, and then identify opportunities as they arise.”