2019–20 Glasgow Warriors season

The 2019–20 season will see Glasgow Warriors compete in the competitions: the Guinness Pro14 and the European Champions Cup. Due to the coronavirus pandemic the season was postponed in May 2020. It continued with a very restricted season finale in August 2020.

New logo, new website
The logo of Glasgow Warriors - apart from a very short spell when the club was deemed Glasgow Caledonians (on the merger with the Caledonia Reds) – was essentially the same for 23 years since the club turned professional. It was that of a Strathclyde warrior wearing a nasal spangenhelm helmet holding a rugby ball and a targe.

The new logo is still of a Strathclyde warrior with a spangenhelm helmet but the similarities end there. Only the warrior's head is now visible; the warrior is now bearded; there is no rugby ball; no targe. Instead in a nod to the old Glasgow District badge logo a saltire is in the background and the words Glasgow Warriors are part of the design below the Strathclyde warrior.

The whole impression is now much more like an American NHL or NFL design.

The club website also was updated. Rebranded with the new logo it was termed a 'mobile first' design given that 75% of its hits were from mobile phones.

Rennie's last season
On 19 November 2019 Glasgow Warriors announced that their Head Coach Dave Rennie will be leaving the club at the end of the 2019–20 season. Dave Rennie was headhunted by Rugby Australia after Michael Cheika announced he would quit on 31 December 2019 after the Australia team's lacklustre showing in the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Next coach announced
The Glasgow Warriors board and the Scottish Rugby Union wasted no time in announcing Dave Rennie's successor in the Head Coach role at the club. The very next day from the Rennie announcement, on 20 November 2019, came the news that the Scotland forwards coach Danny Wilson would take over as Head Coach at Glasgow Warriors in the summer of 2020. Wilson took over on 1 June 2020.

Coronavirus pandemic
Due to the pandemic of the deadly COVID-19 strain of coronavirus, the Pro14 suspended all matches in March 2020 to the end of the season. The final, due to take place in Cardiff, was cancelled. If the final was to be played, the team with the highest league ranking points would instead host the match.

The 2019–20 season was extended due to coronavirus. It was to resume in August with teams playing 2 matches against the other teams in the Pro14 that had the same nationality. For Glasgow Warriors this meant that two matches were to be played against Edinburgh Rugby. More controversially, the Pro14 dropped the quarter finals which effectively meant that Glasgow Warriors would not make the play-offs in this season.

New co-captain pairing
With Callum Gibbins leaving the club, Danny Wilson announced that Fraser Brown would become the new co-captain of the club. Ryan Wilson retained his place as the other co-captain.

Coaches

 * Head Coach: 🇳🇿 Dave Rennie (to May 2020) then 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Danny Wilson (from June 2020)
 * Assistant Coach:  Kenny Murray
 * Assistant Coach: 🇳🇿 Jason O'Halloran
 * Forwards Coach:  John Dalziel
 * Head Strength and Conditioning Coach: 🇳🇿 Brad Mayo
 * Asst. Strength and Conditioning Coach: Liam Walshe
 * Asst. Strength and Conditioning Coach: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Jonathan Harris-Wright
 * Lead Performance Analyst: Greg Woolard
 * Asst. Performance Analyst: Graham O'Riordan

Staff

 * Managing Director: Nathan Bombrys
 * Chairman: Charles Shaw
 * Advisory Group: Walter Malcolm, Douglas McCrea, Alan Lees, Jim Preston, Paul Taylor
 * Rugby Operations Manager: John Manson (to September 2019)
 * Kit Manager & Masseur: Dougie Mills
 * Clinical Manager and Team Physiotherapist:
 * Team Doctor: Dr. Jonathan Hanson
 * Commercial Operations Manager: Alastair Kellock
 * Communications Manager: Jeremy Bone
 * Communications Asst: Jack Reid
 * Content Producer: Graeme Thomson
 * Marketing Insight Executive: Claire Scott
 * Operations Manager: James Acheson
 * Marketing and Partnerships Manager: Darroch Ramsay
 * Partnership Sales Manager: Ross Curle
 * Partnership Account Manager: Oliver Norman
 * Partnership Account Manager: Jim Taylor
 * Community Manager: Lindsey Smith
 * Community Rugby Coach: Stuart Lewis

Scottish Rugby Academy Stage 3 players
These players are given a professional contract by the Scottish Rugby Academy. Although given placements they are not contracted by Glasgow Warriors. Players graduate from the academy when a professional club contract is offered.

These players are assigned to Glasgow Warriors for the season 2019–20.

Academy players promoted in the course of the season are listed with the main squad.


 * Euan McLaren - Prop
 * Murphy Walker - Prop
 * Cameron Henderson - Lock
 * Marshall Sykes - Lock
 * Ross Thompson - Fly-half
 * Ollie Smith - Centre
 * Grant Hughes - Centre
 * Robbie McCallum - Centre

Back up players
Other players used by Glasgow Warriors over the course of the season.


 * Glenn Bryce (Scotland 7s) – Fullback
 * Gavin Lowe (Scotland 7s) – Fullback
 * Robbie Fergusson (Scotland 7s) – Centre
 * Max McFarland (Scotland 7s) – Wing
 * Alec Coombes (Scotland 7s) – Wing
 * Kyle Rowe (Scotland 7s) – Wing
 * Ross Graham (Watsonians) – Hooker
 * 🇳🇿 Lars Morrice (Ayr) – Lock

2020-21 season players
Due to the extension of the 2019–20 season, two players signed for the 2020–21 season made appearances this season for Glasgow Warriors.


 * Richie Gray - Lock
 * 🇦🇷 Enrique Pieretto - Prop

Player statistics
During the 2019–20 season, Glasgow have used 52 different players in competitive games. The table below shows the number of appearances and points scored by each player.

Personnel in

 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Danny Wilson (Head Coach) from Scotland (Forwards Coach) (from June 2020)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Jonathan Harris-Wright (Asst. Strength and Conditiong Coach) from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bristol Bears Women

Personnel out

 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Jonathan Humphreys to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (Asst. Coach)
 * Mike Blair to Scotland (Asst. Coach)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 George Petrakos released

Personnel out

 * Nicola McGuire (lead physio and clinical manager)
 * Gabrielle McCullough (rehab physiotherapist)

Personnel out

 * John Manson to 🇺🇸 Old Glory DC

In

 * Andrew Davidson from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Newcastle Falcons
 * Kyle Steyn from Scotland 7s
 * Lewis Wynne from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London Scottish (loan ends)
 * James Malcolm from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Doncaster Knights (loan ends)
 * George Thornton from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Wasps
 * Charlie Capps from 🇫🇷 Stade Niçois
 * Alex Dunbar from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Newcastle Falcons (loan ends)
 * Jamie Dobie from Merchiston Castle School
 * Mesu Dolokoto from Fijian Drua
 * Jale Vakaloloma from 🇦🇺 Brisbane City
 * 🇺🇸 Jack Iscaro from 🇺🇸 Old Glory DC
 * Sean Kennedy from Edinburgh
 * 🇺🇸 Pat O'Toole from 🇺🇸 Houston SaberCats
 * Johnny Matthews from Boroughmuir
 * 🇳🇿 Aki Seiuli from 🇳🇿 Otago
 * Gordon Reid from Ayrshire Bulls
 * Leone Nakarawa from 🇫🇷 Racing 92
 * 🇦🇷 Gaston Cortes from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Leicester Tigers (loan)
 * Ewan Mcquillan from Southern Knights
 * 🇦🇺 Dylan Evans from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Scarlets (loan)

Out

 * Stuart Hogg to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Exeter Chiefs
 * Jamie Bhatti to Edinburgh
 * Lewis Wynne to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London Scottish
 * James Malcolm to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London Scottish
 * Robbie Smith to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bedford Blues
 * Alex Dunbar released
 * Kevin Bryce to Glasgow High Kelvinside
 * 🇳🇿 Lelia Masaga released
 * Kaleem Barreto to 🇫🇷 Stade Niçois (loan)
 * 🇺🇸 David Tameilau to 🇺🇸 San Diego Legion
 * 🇺🇸 Jack Iscaro to 🇺🇸 Old Glory DC
 * Rory Hughes to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Leicester Tigers (loan)
 * Matt Smith to Edinburgh Rugby (loan)
 * Charlie Capps to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Leicester Tigers (loan)
 * Gordon Reid to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Northampton Saints

Pre-season and friendlies
Glasgow Warriors lined up two pre-season games against Ulster.

Match 1
Ulster: Michael Lowry; Craig Gilroy, Matt Faddes, James Hume, Angus Kernohan; Billy Burns (C), Johnny Stewart; Kyle McCall, Adam McBurney, Ross Kane, Alan O’Connor, David O’Connor, Clive Ross, Marcus Rea, Greg Jones Replacements: John Andrew, Eric O’Sullivan, Tom O’Toole, Sam Carter, Kieran Treadwell, Matty Rea, Sean Reidy, Nick Timoney, David Shanahan, John Cooney, Angus Curtis, Luke Marshall, Graham Curtis, Ethan McIlroy Glasgow Warriors: 1. Oli Kebble 2. Johnny Matthews 3. Adam Nicol 4. Tim Swinson (C) 5. Kiran McDonald 6. Matt Smith 7. Tom Gordon 8. Adam Ashe 9. Sean Kennedy 10. Brandon Thomson 11. Ratu Tagive 12. Robbie Fergusson 13. Nick Grigg 14. Robbie Nairn 15. Glenn Bryce Replacements: Pat O'Toole, Alex Allan, D'arcy Rae, George Thornton, Rob Harley, Lars Morrice, Cameron Henderson, Marshall Sykes, Chris Fusaro, Nick Frisby, Jamie Dobie, Ross Thompson, Paddy Kelly, Alec Coombes, Kyle Rowe, Max McFarland, Ollie Smith.

Match 2
Glasgow Warriors: 1. Oli Kebble, 2. Johnny Matthews, 3. D'arcy Rae, 4. Andrew Davidson, 5. Tim Swinson, 6. Rob Harley, 7. Chris Fusaro (c), 8. Adam Ashe, 9. Nick Frisby, 10. Brandon Thomson, 11. Rory Hughes, 12. Stafford McDowall, 13. Huw Jones, 14. Kyle Steyn, 15. Glenn Bryce Replacements: Grant Stewart, Alex Allan, Adam Nicol, Kiran McDonald, Bruce Flockhart, Sean Kennedy, Paddy Kelly, Ruaridh Jackson Charlie Capps, Callum Gibbins, Matt Fagerson, Jamie Dobie, Nick Grigg, Ratu Tagive, Gavin Lowe. Ulster: Will Addison; Craig Gilroy, Matt Faddes, Stuart McCloskey, Rob Lyttle; Billy Burns (captain), John Cooney Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring, Marty Moore, Kieran Treadwell, Sam Carter, Matty Rea, Sean Reidy, Nick Timoney Replacements: John Andrew, Kyle McCall, Jack McGrath, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor, Jordi Murphy, Greg Jones, David Shanahan, Bill Johnston, James Hume, Angus Curtis, Angus Kernohan, Michael Lowry.

Coronavirus suspension
The subsequent matches scheduled were indefinitely suspended due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Europe
In the European Rugby Champions Cup pool stage, Glasgow Warriors were placed as Tier 2 seeds and drawn with English sides Exeter Chiefs and Sale Sharks and French side La Rochelle.

Competitive debuts this season
A player's nationality shown is taken from the nationality at the highest honour for the national side obtained; or if never capped internationally their place of birth. Senior caps take precedence over junior caps or place of birth; junior caps take precedence over place of birth. A player's nationality at debut may be different from the nationality shown. Combination sides like the British and Irish Lions or Pacific Islanders are not national sides, or nationalities.

Players in BOLD font have been capped by their senior international XV side as nationality shown.

Players in Italic font have capped either by their international 7s side; or by the international XV 'A' side as nationality shown.

Players in normal font have not been capped at senior level.

A position in parentheses indicates that the player debuted as a substitute. A player may have made a prior debut for Glasgow Warriors in a non-competitive match, 'A' match or 7s match; these matches are not listed.

Tournaments where competitive debut made:

Crosshatching indicates a jointly hosted match.

Sponsorship

 * SP Energy Networks - Title Sponsor and Community Sponsor
 * Scottish Power - Official Kit

Official kit supplier

 * Macron

Official kit sponsors

 * Malcolm Group
 * McCrea Financial Services
 * Denholm Oilfield
 * Ross Hall Hospital
 * Story Contracting
 * Leidos

Official sponsors

 * The Famous Grouse
 * Clyde Travel Management
 * Harper Macleod
 * Caledonia Best
 * Eden Mill Brewery and Distillery
 * David Lloyd Leisure
 * Crabbie's
 * CALA Homes
 * Capital Solutions
 * Martha's Restaurant
 * Sterling Furniture

Official partners

 * A.G. Barr
 * Benchmarx
 * Black & Lizars
 * Cameron House
 * Glasgow Airport
 * Healthspan Elite
 * KubeNet
 * Mentholatum
 * MSC Nutrition
 * Smile Plus
 * Lenco Utilities
 * Scot JCB News Scotland
 * HF Group
 * Primestaff
 * Village Hotel Club
 * The Crafty Pig
 * Kooltech
 * Savills
 * iPro Sports
 * RHA