Glasgow Warriors coach Franco Smith says his players are “hitting their straps” as they head into Friday night’s big URC clash with the Bulls.

Smith’s men have scored 13 tries in their last two matches while recording bonus-point victories at home to the Dragons (49-0) and away to the Ospreys (42-17).

That has taken the 2023-24 champions up to third in the table, just three points off the top.

Now comes the Scotstoun showdown with the sixth-placed Bulls, which has all the makings of being a cracking contest with both teams having won three of their first four league matches.

“It’s the start of the season, so it takes a while for all the engines to start up,” said Smith. “But the players are now starting to find their way and hitting their straps.

“In this first block, we had three objectives – to manage the internationals and allow them to be in top form when they go into the autumn series; to continue to bring young players through, creating a new generation of Warriors; and at the same time to keep the performance.

“Those were our main ingredients and objectives, and, bar the result against Benetton, I think we have seen that progression.”

URC Round 5: Keo’s accumulator

Now for the Bulls in a repeat of the 2023-24 URC final.

“We know we must be at our best as we look to finish the first block of fixtures on a high,” said Smith. “The Bulls possess one of the strongest and deepest squads in the URC and are consistent in the quality of performances they produce.

“We know we must be at the right level physically and mentally in order to meet their challenge.”

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Smith was particularly pleased with last weekend’s six-try win over the Ospreys at the Brewery Field given what a fortress the Bridgend ground has been for the Welsh team over the past couple of years.

“I was very nervous around that one. We knew it was going to be tough,” said the former Springbok who played at the venue in his days with Newport. “But the boys stepped up from an emotional and creative point of view.

“The Ospreys are a very good team, very well coached, tenacious. They never back off; they made some big collisions. We had to break them down.

“I’m delighted that we performed well. There was good energy, we were technically good, and there was good application. It was much better.

“Consistency is obviously what we’re after. I still feel our scrum set piece can improve, and I think there’s more from the individuals in our team to add value to the general structure.”

In terms of the team news, Glasgow have made six changes from the side that beat the Ospreys, while Bok lock Ruan Nortje returns to captain the Bulls.

TEAM: Nortje back to lead much-changed Bulls

GLASGOW WARRIORS – 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Steyn (c), 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Kyle Rowe, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Matt Fagerson, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Murphy Walker, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Jamie Bhatti.
Bench: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Alex Craig, 21 Euan Ferrie, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Dan Lancaster.

Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images