Can the players from last season take that final step and win the URC title they last won in 2024?
The Glasgow Warriors dominated the URC for most of last year, finishing the regular season top of the table. They then suffered a narrow defeat to the Bulls in the semi-final at Murrayfield, and a season that had shown so much promise came to a premature end. The question is, can Franko Smith lift his side to another shot at the title?
On the eve of the new season, The world of rugby he gives his judgment to each URC and Gallagher PREM team – keep signing up for more previews between now and the big launch on Friday 25th September.
Discussion points from Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow are still reeling from a dismal finish to last season when Franco Smith’s side missed out on hugely promising places in the URC and Champions Cup.
After a disappointing loss to Toulon in the European quarter-finals, the Bulls turned the tables on the Scots for a dismissal in Pretoria in the 2024 URC final.
That semi-defeat looked like the end of the world for the Scotstoun side, who saw a 21-3 lead disappear through South Africa’s brute force and their ill-discipline and inaccuracy.
Will there be a hangover from that late-season collapse? And how will they cope with the loss of a host of influential performers – Jack Dempsey, Huw Jones, Adam HastingsJohnny Matthews, Jamie Bhatti, Sione Vailan? Smith has been adept at building depth in his four years at the helm, but there is a danger that some of the younger cohort will be relied on too soon.
A key player
You’d be hard-pressed to identify anyone more consistent than Stafford McDowall. The center leads with action and words on both sides of the ball, to the extent that he was regularly preferred to Jones last term and is the obvious choice as captain whenever Kyle Steyn and To Joan Tuipulot are absent.
He also honed a nice sideline as a jumper in Smith’s more complex routines.
Center Stafford McDowall has become an integral part of this Glasgow Warriors team (Photo: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
One to watch
Macenzzie Duncan is the number 8 right tackle and can expect more exposure after Dempsey, whose exit has been described as a “gut punch”.
The 23-year-old can also play openside, and if Glasgow have a quality test in the back row – Jamie Ritchie is a great addition – then the rest demands will only increase in a World Cup year. On his current trajectory, Duncan could emerge as a contender for selection in the Scotland squad for Australia.
Trainer box
Smith remains the beating heart of Scotstoun despite regular speculation that he will be lured away.
There are encouraging signs for Roddy Grant and Scott Forrest in the defensive dual, while Nigel Carolan is one of the sharpest attacking minds in the game.
Glasgow Warriors Prediction 2026-27
A slight fall. Fourth in the URC and round of 16 in the Champions Cup.
Glasgow Warriors 2026-27 quotas
4-1
Vital statistics
Glasgow have topped the league four times – in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2026 – and were champions twice.
Warriors have brought Jamie Ritchie back to Scotland after a year at Perpignan (Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
Glasgow Warriors signings
- Jamie Ritchie (Perpignan)
- Ruwald van der Merwe (Pumas)
- Bayley Kuenzle (Western Force)
Glasgow Warriors ddepartures
- Adam Hastings (Montpellier)
- Huw Jones (Toulon)
- Jamie Bhatti (Bath)
- Jack Dempsey (Toshiba Brave Lupus)
- Johnny Matthews (Montauban)
- Sione Vailan (Biarritz)
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