2022–23 Glasgow Warriors season

The 2022–23 season will see Glasgow Warriors compete in the competitions: the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Challenge Cup.

Season overview
After the disappointment of the side last season, the SRU stood down Danny Wilson as head coach of the time at the end of the 2021–22 season. It took time for a new head coach to be found, but Franco Smith, a South African previously in charge of the Italy national team, took over the reins of the club, just before Glasgow Warriors pre-season fixtures were due to be played.

The new coach Franco Smith announced a new captain for Glasgow Warriors, the Scotland international Kyle Steyn. Steyn became the eleventh captain of the club.

With little time to get Smith's ideas over, the Warriors struggled for the first few fixtures, particularly away from home. However the team adjusted to the new regime and started to flourish and the results followed, both in the URC and in the European Challenge Cup.

Assistant coach Peter Horne said of this season, compared to last: "Last year it was a case of ‘that should never have happened and we can’t let it happen again’, so it wasn't that we needed to change our expectations – this is where we believe we should be. It is exciting when you look at the team and some of the guys we are leaving out – we’re in a good spot."

Glasgow went unbeaten at home in the regular season, but having gone down to 14 men in the quarter final, lost 14-5 to Munster.

The side reached its first ever European final in the Challenge Cup, but fell to the French side Toulon 43-19.

Coaches

 * Head coach: Franco Smith
 * Assistant coach:  Peter Murchie
 * Assistant coach:  Peter Horne
 * Assistant coach:  Nigel Carolan
 * Scrum Coach:  Alasdair Dickinson
 * Head Strength and Conditioning Coach: Cillian Reardon
 * Senior Athletic Performance Coach: Damien O'Donoghue
 * Sport Scientist: Robin Reidy
 * Lead Performance Analyst: Greg Woolard
 * Asst. Performance Analyst: Eilidh Wright
 * Asst. Performance Analyst: Aidan FitzGerald

Staff

 * Managing Director: Alastair Kellock
 * Chairman: Charles Shaw
 * Advisory Group: Walter Malcolm, Douglas McCrea, Alan Lees, Paul Taylor, Frank Mitchell, Scott Mathieson
 * Rugby Operations Manager: John Manson
 * Assistant Operations Manager: Martin Malone
 * Kit & Equipment Manager: Dougie Mills
 * Head groundsman: Colin McKinnon
 * Team Doctor: Dr. Jonathan Hanson
 * Clinical Manager and Lead Physiotherapist: Andrew Boag
 * Senior Team Physiotherapist: Hene Branders
 * Senior Team Physiotherapist: Michael Clark
 * Junior Physiotherapist: Christina Finlay
 * Communications and Marketing Manager: Cameron MacAllister
 * Marketing manager: Claire Scott
 * Event Manager: Duncan Seller
 * Content Producer: Robyn Struthers
 * Administrator: Jana Tobin
 * Communications Manager: Craig Wright
 * Communications Assistant: Molly Mitchell
 * Commercial Manager: Jamie Robertson
 * Lead Account Manager: Omar Muhyeddeen
 * Partnership Account Manager: Catherine Bunch
 * Sponsorship Co-Ordinator: Megan Kennedy
 * Community Manager: Stuart Lewis
 * Business Club Manager: Adam Ashe

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 2022–23.

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


 * Jamie Drummond – Hooker
 * Tom Banatvala – Prop
 * Callum Norrie – Prop
 * Harris McLeod – Lock
 * Rhys Tait – Flanker
 * Archie Smeaton – No. 8
 * Ben Afshar – Scrum half
 * Finlay Burgess – Scrum half
 * Christian Townsend – Fly-half
 * Ben Salmon – Centre
 * Duncan Munn – Centre
 * Logan Jarvie – Wing
 * Ross McKnight – Wing
 * Andy Stirrat – full back

Back up players
Other players used by Glasgow Warriors over the course of the season. Harry Murray and Euan Cunningham were named in the original academy line up by Glasgow Warriors in their June 2022 depth chart, but left out of the SRU academy announcement in July 2022 and are instead named here.


 * Luca Alessandri (Boroughmuir Bears) – Prop
 * Mark Ashdown (Glasgow Academicals) – Prop
 * Murray McCallum (Edinburgh Rugby) – Prop
 * Harry Murray (Ayrshire Bulls) – Lock
 * 🇺🇸 Cory Daniel (Old Glory DC) – Flanker
 * Aminio Bogridrau (Glasgow Hutchesons Aloysians) – Fly half
 * Euan Cunningham (Stirling Wolves) – Fly half
 * 🇺🇸 Owen Sheehy (Old Glory DC) – Fly half
 * Callum Ferrie (Glasgow Hawks) – Centre
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Eli Caven (Ayrshire Bulls) – Wing
 * Amena Casqusau (Glasgow Hutchesons Aloysians) – Wing
 * 🇺🇸 John Rizzo (Old Glory DC) – full back

Player statistics
During the 2022–23 season, Glasgow have used 49 different players in competitive games. The table below shows the number of appearances and points scored by each player.

Personnel in

 * Franco Smith from 🇮🇹 Italy

Personnel out

 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Danny Wilson released

Academy promotions

 * Gregor Brown from Scottish Rugby Academy
 * Angus Fraser from Scottish Rugby Academy
 * Alex Samuel from Scottish Rugby Academy
 * Max Williamson from Scottish Rugby Academy
 * Euan Ferrie from Scottish Rugby Academy

In

 * JP du Preez from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Sale Sharks
 * 🇹🇴 Sione Vailanu from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Worcester Warriors
 * Huw Jones from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Harlequins
 * Sintu Manjezi from Bulls
 * Allan Dell from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London Irish
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Joel Hodgson from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Newcastle Falcons
 * 🇦🇷 Lucio Sordoni from 🇫🇷 Mont-de-Marsan
 * Logan Trotter from Stirling Wolves
 * Cameron Jones from Ayrshire Bulls
 * Will Hunt from Ayrshire Bulls
 * Gregor Hiddleston from Stirling Wolves
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Cameron Neild from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Worcester Warriors
 * Jack Mann from Heriots
 * Max Williamson from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London Scottish (loan ends)
 * Jamie Drummond from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London Scottish (loan ends)
 * 🇦🇷 Facundo Cordero from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Exeter Chiefs

Out

 * Kiran McDonald to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Wasps
 * Hamish Bain to 🇯🇪 Jersey Reds
 * Robbie Fergusson released
 * Rob Harley to 🇫🇷 US Carcassonne
 * Tom Lambert to 🇦🇺 Waratahs
 * Ewan McQuillin released
 * Grant Stewart to Connacht
 * 🇦🇺 Ratu Tagive released
 * Robbie McCallum to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London Scottish
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Joel Hodgson to 🇺🇸 Utah Warriors
 * Logan Trotter to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London Irish
 * Max Williamson to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London Scottish (loan)
 * Jamie Drummond to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London Scottish (loan)
 * Rufus McLean released
 * 🇹🇴 Walter Fifita released
 * Will Hunt to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Preston Grasshoppers
 * Cameron Jones to Edinburgh

Pre-season and friendlies
It was announced that the Warriors would play 2 pre-season matches in September. The first, against Worcester Warriors, would take place in the Inverness Caledonian Thistle stadium as part of the celebration of the centenary of Highland RFC. The last time the Warriors played at the Inverness ground was on 25 March 2000 when they played Edinburgh Rugby there.

Unfortunately Worcester Warriors were in financial trouble; and facing administration they pulled out of the tie. Reigning Super 6 champions Ayrshire Bulls were then named as the replacement side.

Although named in the Warriors replacements, both Will Hunt and Ben Afshar came on for Ayrshire Bulls.

The next match due on 9 September 2022 against Ulster was also cancelled, due to the death of Queen Elizabeth the previous day.

Both Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby were invited to play sides in the Super Six Sprint Series against the Super 6 sides. Both released 'A' sides for the competition, featuring a number of international players in their squads.

Match 1
Glasgow Warriors:

Worcester Warriors:

Match 2
Glasgow Warriors: Nathan McBeth, Johnny Matthews, Simon Berghan, Lewis Bean, Richie Gray, Sintu Manjezi, Thomas Gordon, Sione Vailanu, George Horne, Domingo Miotti, Kyle Steyn, Tom Jordan, Stafford McDowall, Walter Fifita, Cole Forbes

Replacements: Fraser Brown, Murphy Walker, Lucio Sordoni, Alex Samuel, Euan Ferrie, JP du Preez, Ryan Wilson, Jack Dempsey, Cameron Jones, Ben Afshar, Joel Hodgson, Will Hunt, Andy Stirrat, Ross McKnight, Sebastián Cancelliere

Ayrshire Bulls: Liam McNamara; J Shedden, R Beattie, A Stirrat, T Glendinning; R Simpson, J Lenac; A Nimmo, J Malcolm, M Scott, E Bloodworth, A Samuel, R Jackson, Lewis McNamara, B Macpherson (captain) Replacements: W Farquhar, A Rogers, A McGuire, J Drummond, C Henderson, E Hamilton-Bulger, T Brown, G Wilson, F Climo, C Elliot, A Tait, E Caven.

Match 3
Glasgow Warriors: 1. Nathan McBeth, 2. Johnny Matthews, 3. Murphy Walker, 4. Lewis Bean, 5. Richie Gray, 6. Sintu Manjezi, 7. Thomas Gordon, 8. Jack Dempsey, 9. George Horne, 10. Domingo Miotti, 11. Walter Fifita, 12. Tom Jordan, 13. Stafford McDowall, 14. Kyle Steyn (C), 15. Cole Forbes Replacements: Fraser Brown, Jamie Bhatti, Lucio Sordoni, JP du Preez, Ryan Wilson, Sione Vailanu, Euan Ferrie, Cam Jones, Duncan Weir, Sam Johnson, Ross McKnight, Sebastian Cancelliere.

Ulster: 1. Eric O’Sullivan, 2. Tom Stewart, 3. Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 4. Sam Carter 5. Cormac Izuchukwu, 6. Matty Rea, 7. Sean Reffell, 8. David McCann (Captain), 9. Nathan Doak, 10. Jake Flannery, 11. Jacob Stockdale, 12. Angus Curtis, 13. Stewart Moore, 14. Rob Baloucoune, 15. Rory Telfer Replacements: Callum Reid, John Andrew, Declan Moore, Gareth Milasinovich, Frank Bradshaw-Ryan, Harry Sheridan, Jordi Murphy, Lorcan McLoughlin, Dave Shanahan, Michael McDonald, Ian Madigan, Rob Lyttle, Craig Gilroy, Shea O’Brien.

Match 4
Ayrshire Bulls: William Farquhar, Grant Stewart, Calvin Henderson, Ed Bloodworth, Rory Jackson, Ryan Sweeney, Blair Jardine, Blair Macpherson (Captain), Reiss Cullen, Richie Simpson, Luca Bardelli, Robert Beattie, Jamie Shedden, Thomas Glendinning, Eli Caven Replacements: Lewis McNamara, Andrew Nimmo, Craig Miller, Kerr Yule, Tim Brown, Antony Fitch, Grant Baird, Chris Elliot

Glasgow Warriors 'A': Oli Kebble, Angus Fraser, Murphy Walker, Max Williamson, Alex Samuel, Ally Miller, Archie Smeaton, Gregor Brown, Sean Kennedy, Duncan Weir, Ross McKnight, Duncan Munn, Ben Salmon, Logan Jarvie, Christian Townsend

Replacements: Jamie Drummond, Murray McCallum, Euan Ferrie, Harris McLeod, Ben Afshar, Aminio Bogidrau, Callum Ferrie

Match 5
Boroughmuir Bears: Iain Carmichael, Corey Tait, Martin McGinley, Jack Fisher, Josh King, Craig Keddie (Captain), Scott McGinley, Trystan Andrews, Ruaridh Swan, Tom Quinlan, Joe Jenkins, Scott Robeson, Kerr Johnston, Mason Cullen, Callum Ramm Replacements: Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, Brandon Sweet, Marcus Goodwin, Arthur Allen, Kieran Westlake, Brodie Young, Adam Scott, Alex Thom

Glasgow Warriors 'A': Jamie Drummond, Angus Fraser, Murphy Walker, Max Williamson, Alex Samuel, Ally Miller, Euan Ferrie, Gregor Brown, Sean Kennedy, Duncan Weir, Logan Jarvie, Duncan Munn, Ben Salmon, Amena Casqusau, Christian Townsend

Replacements: Gregor Hiddleson, Lucio Sordoni, Harris McLeod, Archie Smeaton, Ben Afshar, Aminio Bogidrau, Ross McKnight

Match 6
Stirling Wolves: Liliam Quarm, Reyner Kennedy (captain), Marius Tamosaitis, Hamish Ferguson, Ruaridh Hart, Jake Spurway, Connor Gordon, Benedict Grant, Kyle McGhie, Craig Jackson, Korie Winters, Marcus Holden, Ryan Southern, Stevie Hamilton, Glenn Bryce Replacements: Sam Rainey, Adam Woods, George Breese, James Pow, Shaun MacDonald, Eric Davey, Craig Jardine, Fin Callaghan

Glasgow Warriors 'A': Jamie Drummond, Gregor Hiddleston, Murphy Walker, Max Williamson, Alex Samuel, Thomas Gordon, Gregor Brown, Ally Miller (captain), Finlay Burgess, Christian Townsend, Ross McKnight, Andy Stirrat, Ben Salmon, Logan Jarvie, Facundo Cordero

Replacements: Angus Fraser, Mark Ashdown, Luca Alessandri, Harris McLeod, Archie Smeaton, Euan Ferrie, Sean Kennedy, Amino Bogridrau [Ashdown and Alessandri not used]

United Rugby Championship
The dates and times for the new season were announced on 5 August 2022.

Glasgow Warriors went into their first competitive match of the season against Benetton Treviso in Italy, having only played one pre-season game. It showed, as the Italian side ran out comfortably with a 33-11 bonus point victory. New Head Coach Franco Smith stated: "Execution under pressure is one thing we definitely need to work on going forward. I also learnt a lot about the emotional intelligence of all of the players out there – you could see how each individual handled pressure, how they converted it into positive energy and so on." The team played the next week against Cardiff Rugby, sparking into life and scoring 8 tries. Matt Fagerson said: "We wanted to go out there and show the shifts we’ve made in our game, and while we know we’re by no means the finished article just yet, we did exactly that." That raised expectations for the away match against Ospreys but the Welsh side ran out 32–17 winners. Peter Murchie said: "The final scoreline was poor. There’s no getting away from that. The tale of the game is going to revolve around the mistakes we made, and we have to get better. There’s no two ways about it."

A run against South African sides was next. The home match against last season's URC finalists Bulls saw Glasgow once again click into gear with a bonus point win. Frano Smith commented: "We worked hard all pre-season knowing that we would have to match the South African teams physically, and that was important to what we managed to achieve tonight."

A pattern was beginning to develop with another away loss to the Sharks. Nigel Carolan reflected: "We had a plan to move them around, and we only really managed to click into that plan at about the 38 or 39 minute mark. We kicked too much across the board, and we knew that there was going to be an onslaught coming when the Sharks emptied the bench."

The next match, away to Lions was postponed, so the Warriors went back to a home match against Benetton. The home win run continued. Debutant Alex Samuel noted: "It was a bit stop-start, but we showed tonight that we can play the Glasgow way. Our backs were firing really well tonight, I thought they were outstanding throughout. Up front, too, we were dominant all game – our scrum towards the end, in particular, was so impressive. We got after them at the lineout really well, too, and it was brilliant to see it all gel together so well."

A tough away fixture to Leinster was next, and again the away curse could not be broken. The Warriors enjoyed the majority in territory and possession in the match, but Leinster were clinical with their chances. Franco Smith said: "We almost beat ourselves today. Some of the errors and penalties we gave away were unacceptable – we gave away six consecutive penalties at one point in the first half, which gave them field position that led to their three tries. We were also nowhere near clinical enough when we breached their defence, which we did on a number of occasions. There was always a little error that prevented us getting the score."

The next fixture to Zebre provided the Warriors an opportunity to break the 'away curse' and finally the Warriors came good. Sintu Manjezi said: "It’s good to get the monkey off our back, for sure. It’s a really good win from the boys – we had to work hard for that. The forwards came with a great amount of energy today and the backs finished it off, so it was a great team effort from us. In wet conditions, it was always going to be a forwards-dominated game. I thought we fronted up well today and showed what we can do as a group, especially in that second half. I also have to give credit to the backs as they really steered us around the park well today. We’re buzzing, really. Everyone is incredibly pleased to get that first away win of the season."

Next up was the 1872 Cup fixtures against Edinburgh. The Warriors dominated at Scotstoun in a 16 - 10 victory. JP Du Preez said: "Our set piece dominance really stood out for me. When I just came on and we had a scrum right underneath the poles and we got a penalty, that was a highlight." Proving that the away win against Zebre wasn't a fluke, the Warriors lifted the 1872 Cup with a win at Murrayfield. Sione Tuipulotu praised the Warrior Nation for their Murrayfield numbers: "It means so much to us when fans come down and get behind us and it gives us the biggest lift in the game. Especially when its late on in the games and we are getting a roll on and they are getting behind us."

The Warriors welcomed defending champions Stormers to Scotstoun in what proved to be a cracking match. The Warriors played with an intensity throughout and there was a fine finish from Sebastián Cancelliere from Tuipulotu's smart kick through to secure the match with a bonus point win. Franco Smith said: "It was fantastic to see that we have the confidence now to take on the best teams in the competition in these areas. The guys stepped up to the plate again tonight. Our physicality and the way we went about our business. To take them on at the scrum at the end is a rewarding feeling."

The away match against the Dragons was a potential banana-skin. In a bonus point victory the Warriors ran in 6 tries, but there were times that the Dragons countered themselves, so there was work still to do in defence. Fraser Brown admitted: "It was a mixed bag, to be honest. When we controlled the ball and got into the Dragons’ 22, we came away with points – but there was too many times in the game we lost our way and let them back in."

The match against Ulster at Scotstoun was played in wet miserable conditions. The match proved to be low scoring, but the Warriors out-muscled the Irish team in a 17 - 11 win. The re-arranged away match against the Lions was next, coming in the Six Nations window. The Warriors squad did not match the Lions at altitude and they lost 35 - 24, despite scoring 4 tries. Franco Smith concluded: "We made a lot of mistakes and were pretty self-destructive today, really. There were five clear try-scoring opportunities we created that we didn't convert. We turned the ball over too easily in our own third of the field, and I feel like we lost a little bit of focus during the second quarter of the match."

A home match against Zebre saw the Warriors click back into form, with 8 tries and 50 points scored. That set up an away fixture against Munster at Thomond Park; a team just below the Warriors in the league. A difficult match was expected but the Warriors secured a bonus point before half time with Munster yet to score. Munster did manage to score points in the second half but the damage was already done and the Warriors took 5 pts from the fixture. That secured the play-offs for the Warriors. Domingo Miotti commented: "It’s an amazing feeling and I’m so proud to be a part of this team. That first half was so good for us – our attack, our defence, everything came together and clicked for us. We started the second half with a little bit of indiscipline and that’s something we will work on ahead of next week, but to get the win in that style is such a big moment for this group of players." Smith said of the win: " We know how proud Munster is, and of this ground, so it is a special feeling."

A wet, miserable night in pouring rain was the setting for the home Scarlets match. The Warriors just needed a win to secure a home URC quarter-final. Adding spice to the match, this would be the forerunner for the European Challenge Cup semi-final tie against the Scarlets at Llanelli. The Scarlets seemed to master the conditions in the first half a bit better and with two penalties secured a 6–0 lead. It wasn't until 35 minutes that the Warriors kicked into gear, with Sione Vailanu crashing through the Scarlets defence after a Warriors line-out. The second half was more like it from the Warriors; and Fraser Brown scored a try from a driving maul. Scarlets only reply was another penalty, although they had a try chalked off for offside, with the TMO bailing out the referee. Man of the match Zander Fagerson said: "We’re really happy. It was a big effort from the whole pack. Our pack love to scrum and we knew tonight would be a big battle against a good Scarlets pack. We got the job done, but we know we need to back it up in a couple of weeks when we play them again at the Parc y Scarlets. I think we’re getting better every week. We left a few points out there and could have scored more. We could have been more ruthless. We want to get better and it’s an exciting time to be part of this squad."

As the last match of the regular URC season, results elsewhere meant that the Warriors couldn't improve on their fourth place; and Connacht couldn't reach fifth place, but still had a chance of sixth place. Probably more importantly to the sides: Warriors were looking to go the whole season without losing at home; and Connacht were looking for their seventh win in a row, something that they had never managed before. Warriors burst out of the blocks with a try in a minute, but Connacht scored a few minutes later with a penalty try. Tom Jordan with a juggling act scored another for Glasgow, and then Pendergast scored for Connacht. Then Ali Price scored after a fine move by McDowall, by finishing down the wing. Glasgow nearly score again before the first half ends, but the ball is dropped by Johnson. The second half was much more physical, both sides scoring a try each. It was the boot of George Horne with a penalty that was the difference between the sides at the end. Another home win for the Warriors, then, but the match was costly for its injuries: Matt Fagerson was playing as a back at the end of the match. Franco Smith said of this: "Winning was the most important thing for us tonight against a motivated team from Connacht. We work with a plan. I know that in play-offs there are usually injuries and we must be prepared for that. I believe we have been preparing for the finals from the first day. We’ve had a plan. The players understand the plan and I think we did well. Matt Fagerson in the centres did well. We prepare always for the worst case. All our loose forwards are well prepared and have a good idea of what we want to do with it."

The quarter-final with Munster proved a gruelling battle. It started with the first 20 minutes all Glasgow. They turned down opportunities to kick for points instead preferring to go for tries. Munster defended manfully and then with their first foray into the Glasgow 22 scored a try against the run of play. Then came the moment that was a game-changer. Tom Jordan was red carded for a high tackle on Connor Murray. Buoyed by this, Munster scored another try. Then however their scoring stopped. The second half saw Glasgow with 14 men going for the points, and you would have been hard pressed to say which side had 14 men. Again as at the start of the match, Munster defended manfully, although it came at a cost with several of their players picking up injuries. Glasgow could only manage one try, through Kyle Steyn, and the match petered out with a 14–5 win to the Irish side. Scott Cummings said: "We felt there were still opportunities for us despite the fact we were down to 14 men. We just knew we couldn’t give up, and that we were going to fight until the very last minute of the match. We left everything out there and I’m proud of the shift that the boys put in, but it’s a tough one to take right now in the immediate aftermath of that match."

Franco Smith was philosophical about the result: "In all honesty, to play in two finals for where we are in year one with these boys would have been a huge task. We were all in to win this, there was no talk of taking our foot off the pedal. But now we’ve got to be smart about it. We probably won’t train until later in the week. There will be four or five days when we just reset the bodies and get the minds liberated a little bit. The sense in the changing room is that there is so much determination to finish this season on a high. We’ll make a proper plan for Toulon and with fresh and recovered bodies we’ll go and see if we can bring something back."

European Challenge Cup
After a poor season under the previous head coach Danny Wilson, Glasgow Warriors found themselves unusually in the European Challenge Cup, for only the fourth time in their history, and the first time since the 2006–07 season.

Glasgow Warriors were drawn against English side Bath Rugby and French side Perpignan in the European Challenge Cup pool stage.

The first match was an away fixture at Bath. Glasgow won the match, with Franco Smith saying: "We knew it was going to be a tough game, but we knew if we stuck to our processes and kept to our loose, fast game, we would get the result and we did."

Due to the freezing temperatures, the pitch at Scotstoun was deemed unplayable early and the home tie for Glasgow against Perpignan switched to Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium. It didn't upset the Warriors rhythm too much and they won 26 - 18. Huw Jones said: "A five-point win and a bonus point win is great. We will take the result and move on in the competition. We definitely didn’t get everything right, we ground it out and it was ugly but we will take the five points. There is lots to fix ahead of next week."

A couple of yellow cards - Ollie Smith then Tom Gordon - in the match didn't stop the Warriors winning 26 - 40 away to Perpignan, securing another 5 point bonus point victory. Richie Gray said: "The start was obviously a bit ropey for us with the early yellow card and letting them in for an early try, but I thought we fought our way back into the game well. We could have been more direct at times throughout that game, too, and our discipline was nowhere near where we want it to be, so it wasn’t the perfect performance by any means. However, it’s 40 points at a tough venue in France, and it’s a bonus-point win that’s incredibly important in the context of the competition."

The Warriors only needed 1 point more to secure a last 16 spot. The match against Bath at Scotstoun saw the English side prove difficult to finish off. Duncan Weir missed a penalty at the end to win the match and the score ended in a draw. Last 16 spot secured then but the players were unhappy. Josh Mckay said: "We are pretty gutted – obviously we would have loved have come away with the win. We made it hard for ourselves, was a bit scrappy at the end. We couldn’t win our breakdown and there were a few too many errors."

The last 16 match against the Dragons proved another extraordinary result in which records tumbled. The Warriors won with 73 points, posting their highest ever score; even beating the friendly match result against Dundee HSFP in 2010–11 season where the Warriors won with 71 points. They scored 11 tries in the process against the Welsh side; their most tries in a match. Hooker Jonny Matthews broke the individual try scoring record in a match, notching 5 tries. Yet again, though, the squad were unhappy, in letting Dragons score 33 points in return. Franco Smith explained: "There was a conversation in the changing room - I don't want to say we are disappointed, but we are not completely happy with how it went. That's the group - not me. The fact that we've allowed them to score three tries with only 14 players on the field hurts. The fact they scored any points hurts for us because it's our objective to be as good as we can be on both sides of the ball."

The Dragons victory set up a quarter final against the Lions, the team that last beat the Warriors back in February 2023. This was the Warriors fourth European quarter final; the previous three others all away against the Saracens, with their first match up being in the Challenge Cup back in that 2006–07 season. This Lions home fixture proved a scrappy and nervy match for the Warriors, but they were never in trouble throughout and they scored 4 tries to win the match 31 - 21. Franco Smith said: " I can say that we haven’t been in this situation where we’re playing for a semi-final. The club’s first home quarter-final – they’re excited – so there’s a lot of expectation around the team from players who have been playing well the whole season. That is the lesson that we’ll take from that and we’ll manage the emotion better this week. It’s a little bit of uncharted territory at the moment."

The semi final match against Scarlets proved a game of two halves. Glasgow Warriors took the lead but lost their way in the middle of the first half and thereafter Scarlets applied the pressure. The Scarlets topped the first half 14–7, albeit with the Warriors having 62% possession, though the Welsh side could have been further up. With a half time team talk, the Warriors came out and started to play - and the tries came. The only time that Scarlets looked as if they could get into the match was when Ollie Smith made a failed interception and the referee went to the TMO for a potential yellow card. As Smith got another hand to his own interception, the referee then judged there was a reasonable expectation of a regather, and the result was only a knock on. The Warriors won the match by five tries to one and deservedly went on to the final. Franco Smith said: "They didn’t want to lose tonight, and I thought we started off so well, but we got a little bit jittery. But the plan didn’t change. The plan was specific for this week, and I thought we stuck to that even though Scarlets did extremely well to unsettle us and rattle us.  I’m proud of the boys because solving problems in-game and on the field is something we’ve been working on all season."

The final against Toulon saw the French side race out of the blocks. They scored 3 tries in the first half, and despite a number of entries into Toulon's 22 Glasgow Warriors came away empty-handed in that half. It was a mark of how well Toulon pressurised Glasgow. The second half started the same way with a penalty to Toulon, but the Warriors finally grew into the match and started with tries of their own. However this was too little and too late and Toulon ended winning 43–19. Smith said: "We have to be clinical but that has been a learning for the team throughout the season. This is season one for this group. This is not the end for us, this is just the start. It’s a stepping stone. Obviously we wanted to win it – that would have been the perfect stepping stone – but there are still improvements to be made in the main components of our game."

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