Townsend wary of 'battle-hardened' Connacht
Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend is aware of the threat posed by Eric Elwood’s Connacht outfit who visit the Warriors new home Scotstoun Stadium on Friday night (7.35pm).
Townsend didn’t enjoy the best of starts to his coaching career with the Warriors as his charges lost their opening two Rabodirect PRO12 matches to Ulster and the Scarlets, conceding 18 points in both games.
They got their season back on track last weekend however with an impressive 28-10 triumph over defending champions Ospreys in Liberty stadium.
Connacht will also be looking for a second league win of the season this weekend having lost at home to Cardiff Blues and Scarlets either side of a victory over Zebre.
Last season’s meetings between these two sides produced a draw and a Glasgow win but the western province recorded a convincing double over the Warriors in the 2010/11 season and Townsend knows his side will be punished on Friday if they are not firing on all cylinders.
“Connacht are a battle-hardened, very proud unit whose defeat to tournament leaders Scarlets last weekend didn’t reflect how well they performed in the game,” the former Scottish flyhalf said.
“Our recent record against them underlines just how disciplined, aggressive and accurate a performance will be required to follow up our excellent win over Ospreys with another victory this weekend.”
The Warriors have received a timely boost in the second row with Tim Swinson returning in time to take on the dynamic Connacht duo of Mike McCarthy and Michael Swift.
However, a shoulder injury sustained in Friday’s win over Ospreys has ruled experienced scrum-half Chris Cusiter out of action but Townsend is confident the players at his disposal can get the job done on Friday night.
“This is another strong team we’re sending out. We’re clearly disappointed to lose a scrum-half of the calibre of Chris Cusiter but Henry Pyrgos is a player who works very hard on his game, and we’ll also be welcoming [Fiji international] Niko Matawalu to the fold in the next few days.
“It’s great for us that Tim Swinson has recovered from his injury. He’s a quality second row with considerable experience and nous, and we’re looking forward to seeing him at work.
“As a group, we are really energised by the opportunity to give our supporters a first win at Scotstoun, but are fully aware of what it will take to bring about a positive result.
“We’re firmly focussed on the challenge of beating Connacht and are relishing the prospect of getting back out there in front of our own supporters.”
