Huwipulotu

17:30 Saturday 3rd October, Scotstoun Stadium

And so, Round 2 is here. Glasgow’s first game back at Scotstoun. After a brilliant win away last week, I’m hoping for another this weekend. Glasgow have made a few small changes to the team since last week, but on the whole there is a lot of continuity.

Changes

Fin Richardson comes in for Murphy Walker at tighthead. Both players struggle for game time, so this period with Zander unavailable is good to test them. Other than that, it’s the same front 5. Gus Fraser swaps for Darge, who is on the bench. And Miller and Fagerson continue as the remainder of the back row.

The backline has just one change; Sione Tuipulotu comes in for Ollie Smith, with McDowall moving to 13. And the bench is exactly as it was last week, apart from the Darge/Fraser switch.

Tactics

This makes this week’s bench even stronger than last week’s. I think once again we will see the front row switch by about the 50-minute mark and likely see Darge, Cummings and Duncan on soon after. Reidy didn’t come off the bench last week to make his debut, with the match being so close. So hopefully he gets a shot this week. Once again, this seems to be a team selected to win the game in the second half. On the whole, it’s a very strong team, and with Tuipulotu back, the backline is even more dangerous and should run a whole lot slicker.

Last week, Glasgow’s backline failed to fire a shot in the first half, with many of the normally slick passes going to ground. It’s hard to know where the blame lies when those pull-back passes don’t go to hand. I’m sure it’s a mix of the passer and the receiver, but one of last week’s pundits suggested it was Lancaster slightly out of position. Regardless, this week we can expect things to be better with Sione back and his brilliance at delivering those pull-back passes. Glasgow will play with the same attacking intensity as ever, kicking to the corner whenever penalties are won.

Ulster

Ulster pushed Glasgow right up to the last minute in last season’s final round game away in Belfast with the Warriors winning 22-26 thanks to a 76th minute Kyle Rowe try. However, Ulster started last week a whole lot worse than they ended last season. It’s hard to read too much into the game, as Edinburgh performed much better than expected with their new coaching team. But to be 34-5 down shows real signs of weakness. Edinburgh played with width and speed of ball, something Glasgow are masters at, and so we should expect to find gaps. Ulster, to their credit, held their defensive line very well in the first half, with Edinburgh relying on a bit of luck for their second try coming off a deflected charge down.

Ulster also attacked with width and looked dangerous with their back rows often lurking on the wing. Dave McCann in particular had a good game out wide. Ulster have made a lot of changes to their backline this week. Devine comes in at 9 from the bench, Murphy and Benson stay at 10 and 12, but the rest of the side is different. Zac Ward, a very dangerous player, starts on the left wing. Having been a key part of their late comeback last week, he is rewarded with a start. Stockdale replaces Lowry at 15. Chay Mullins comes in for Baloucoune, and interestingly Ethan McIlroy, normally a winger, starts at 13. This may be a weak spot defensively that Glasgow could target. 13 is a hard place to defend, and if McIlroy is not familiar enough with it (only 2 previous starts at 13 in 80 games for Ulster), then Glasgow should exploit that.

There are more changes in the forwards too. Such as Tom Stewart coming in at hooker. Izuchukwu makes a start at second row; many Ulster fans believe he should be starting for Ireland. And the other Ward brother, Bryn, starting at number 8, another dangerous player. They have gone with a 6-2 split on the bench, matching the Warriors with Juarno Augustus in the 23 jersey. Augustus is a brilliant number 8 and will have an impact when he is introduced to the game. Hopefully Glasgow’s bench mitigates whatever impact he can have.

Key battle

As I mentioned earlier, Ulster were weak out wide defensively last week. Bringing in Ethan McIlroy at 13 may mean this continues as he is less familiar in the 13 channel. With Sione coming into Glasgow’s midfield and Stafford moving to 13, Glasgow have the weapons needed to exploit that weakness.

Predictions

Glasgow are the favoured side this week. At home and against a side who struggled last week. Despite this, I can still see it being fairly close in the first half. Edinburgh had to work very hard to get ahead last week and relied on taking the 3 points a couple of times. Ulster will no doubt have worked on their defence out wide. However, Glasgow’s bench once again looks very strong, and with Sione back up and running in the team, it’s hard to see such a strong late surge from Ulster again this week. I expect there to be a period where Ulster are on top, perhaps at the start of the second half. I am going to predict that Glasgow will win 35-21. Ulster have the players to cause problems, but I don’t see them being able to withstand Glasgow’s attack for the full eighty.

As always, please subscribe if you enjoyed reading this, and I hope to write again after another Glasgow win in my match review next week!