URC champs ready to conquer SA

Scrumhalf George Horne claims last season’s Vodacom URC title win in SA has given the Glasgow Warriors the belief to bag back-to-back wins from their trip to the Republic.

The defending URC champions face the Sharks in Durban on Saturday, before heading to Cape Town to take on the DHL Stormers next week.

Horne emphasised the significance of their historic comeback victory over the Bulls in the 2023-24 showpiece at Loftus Versfeld, where the Warriors overturned a 0-13 deficit to win 21-16.

“It definitely instilled a sense of belief in the squad, going away to one of the hardest club grounds in the world and winning there,” Horne was quoted by The Offside Line. “We can do it in front of a packed house in the final, so why can’t we do it now in the regular season?”

He acknowledges the difficulty of playing South African teams on their home turf, saying, “It’s always a huge challenge going over there. They are four of the best teams in the league, especially at home. Not many teams beat them out there.”

Horne stressed the importance of discipline and minimising mistakes in these crucial encounters: “We can’t play loose, can’t turn over the ball, because these guys will punish you. We’ve got to be pretty disciplined in our game plan.”

Looking ahead, he knows that two wins would be massive. “It’s a regular-season game, so we’ve got to bring our own intensity, bring our own energy, treat it as if it is a final,” Horne concluded.

Photo: @GlasgowWarriors/Twitter

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