Victorious Glasgow Warriors told to lift standards for Harlequins match

Smith knows how tough Champions Cup trip to London will be

Franco Smith warned his Glasgow players they will need to raise their game to another level if they are to get the better of Harlequins.

Warriors warmed up for Friday night’s highly anticipated Champions Cup round of 16 tie by putting seven tries on Scarlets in a one-sided contest. The victory saw them move into second place in the United Rugby Championship and bolstered confidence ahead of their trip to the Stoop. Smith, however, acknowledged the size of the challenge against the side ranked fourth in the Gallagher Premiership.

“We are looking forward to keeping on improving and with Harlequins next it is going to be an important test for us,” said the Glasgow head coach. “Europe is going into a stage that feels like a final which is a bit different to where the URC is currently. Of course, there’s going to be a do-or-die match to be played and we will have to lift our standard once again.

Kyle Rowe of Glasgow celebrates with team-mates after scoring his second try against Scarlets.

“I’m not going to make too much about them (Harlequins). For us going into the final part of the season we have to play better. I think it will be important for us to become consistent, to have everybody integrated and to have our processes functioning so we can challenge at the best level. I’m happy with the win (against Scarlets) but there are still a lot of things that we can improve on which makes it fantastic.”

Kyle Rowe ran in a hat-trick in Saturday night’s 45-3 win but Smith believes the best is yet to come from the Scotland winger.“I think his experience with the Six Nations helped a lot with his confidence,” he added. “He’s a talent that still needs to be unearthed. There’s a lot of development in his skillset that can take place. He’s making some big steps in the right direction. I knew of him (before Rowe signed last summer) and had seen him play for London-Irish. I’ve got good friends there, Cornell van Zyl was coaching the forwards so I had a bit of information around him. So I knew of his potential.”