Need to Know: Glasgow Warriors v Southern Kings, PRO14 match preview 2019/20

KO 7.35 at Scotstoun Stadium
Friday 1st November 2019
Live on Premier Sports 1 *

• Head to heads favour Glasgow but they need to make that advantage show on the pitch.
• Hard-grafting skipper Callum Gibbins is the Warrior to Watch.
• This will be just the second visit to Scotstoun for the Kings.

Teams

Head to Head:

Back 3 – ADV Glasgow
Centres – ADV Glasgow
Half Backs – ADV Glasgow
Front Row – ADV Glasgow
Second Row – EVEN
Back Row – ADV Glasgow
Subs – ADV Glasgow

Glasgow Greetings:

There are seven Warriors returning to Scotstoun action for the first time after World Cup duty – Niko Matawalu, Peter Horne, DTH van der Merwe, Adam Hastings, George Horne, Zander Fagerson and George Turner. Replacement hooker Turner will be back on Danes Drive for the first time since the Champions Cup match against Lyon last December – hopefully it’s a bit warmer on Friday than it was for that game!

There’s one player with an even longer break than George though. Ratu Tagive hasn’t played in a competitive match at home since February 2018. The powerful winger (who will be Scottish-qualified in a matter of days) will be itching for the chance to show what he can do.

Warrior to Watch:

Skipper Callum Gibbins has been grafting tirelessly as ever so far this season. Nobody in the squad has made more carries than him. Nobody in the squad has made more tackles than him. Leading from the front he’s been putting his body on the line and he’ll be looking for the rest of the pack to get down in the trenches with him to lay the foundations for this game.

With an electric backline outside them if the forwards can be a bit more precise in retaining possession there will undoubtedly be scoring opportunities. With 11 tries already in his Glasgow career that’s another area that Cully can contribute. It will be the dirty work at the breakdown that will have the most impact though and the Warriors will be expecting another tough shift from the Kiwi flanker.

Glasgow at home to Southern Kings in the PRO14 era:

• 1 win
• 0 losses
• 1 Try BP
• 5 points out of a possible 5 (100%)

Previous match-up:

It’s been just over 2 years since Glasgow last faced the Kings. No, really it’s been 2 years – there have definitely been no other games between these two sides and no-one can convince me otherwise…

Officials:

Referee: Joy Neville (IRFU, 5th Championship appearance)
AR1: Keith Allen (SRU)
AR1: John Carvill (IRFU)
TMO: Leo Colgan (IRFU)

Ms Neville’s regular season record for 2018/19 in the PRO14:

Matches – 3 (all refs – 147)
Average penalty count – 18.3 per game (all refs – 18.4)
Home penalty percentage – 51% (all refs – 52%)
Average card count – 1.0 per game (all refs – 0.9)
Penalties per card – 18.3 (all refs – 19)

Ms. Neville has only taken charge of one previous Warriors’ match – a frustrating loss away to Benetton in January this year. Unusually for a Glasgow defeat there were nothing but good reports in relation to the referee’s handling of the game – a feature of the Irish official’s performances so far.

On her first trip to Scotstoun it will be interesting to see what she makes of a crowd that tends not to be too hesitant about handing out advice to refs…The former Ireland international is unlikely to be phased though. More pertinently, the home side should not be putting themselves in a position where the officiating has an impact. An efficient victory is required to get the season back on track.

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* Other coverage

Highlights of all matches in Round 5:

• Premier Sports – Monday 4th November at 5.45pm
• FreeSports – Monday 4th November at 5.00pm