Glasgow Warriors v Bulls - Teams and prediction 

FRIDAY PREVIEW: Glasgow Warriors and the Bulls will write another chapter in their short United Rugby Championship history at the Scotstoun Stadium on Friday.

The Warriors hold a proud record at home, having lost just twice since December 2023, but with one of those defeats being to the Bulls back in April.

The Bulls will be hopeful to get two wins on the road from three attempts following their defeat to Ulster a fortnight ago and a narrow win against Connacht last weekend.

They made eight positional changes to their line-up, with Ruan Nortjé returning as captain and Marcell Coetzee returning to the No.6 jumper at the expense of Nama Xaba.

Springbok wing Kurt-Lee Arendse also makes a return on the bench.

And in a late change, Jan Serfontein was replaced by Harold Vorster due to a stiff neck.

Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann said the team’s travelling went smoothly and that they’ve been training well in the lead-up to their clash against the Warriors.

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“The travelling went really well. We played the Friday and travelled the Saturday [from Ireland], so we had time to settle in Glasgow.

“We started our preparations on Monday.

“It’s great that Ruan [Nortjé] and Marcell [Coetzee] could’ve joined us.

“We’ve lost experience in Canan [Moodie] and Wilco [Louw] to the Springboks, but getting experience of Louw and Coetzee in [is invaluable].

“It’s been a good week in Glasgow. The weather was good and our preparation went well, so hopefully we can finish well on Friday evening before we return to South Africa.”

Captain Ruan Nortjé said they know what to expect from the Warriors, but the Bulls will focus on their own strengths and objectives.

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“We take confidence from our win here back in April.

“We know if we can step up and match Glasgow physically, that we are in with a chance.

“It all comes down to Friday night. We need to ensure we get our mindset right and be ready for what is coming.

“We know they selected a quality side, and they’re going to want to run us off the park.

“For us, it’s about executing what we’ve been planning for this week and just being ready to show character and pitch up with the right mindset.”

Glasgow will welcome the return of loose forward Jack Dempsey in the starting line-up, who will make his first appearance for the Warriors since January.

His inclusion sees Matt Fagerson shift to the No.7 jumper.

There’s also a return for Josh McKay to the side after being rested against the Ospreys last week.

He starts at fullback with Kyle Steyn and Kyle Rowe on the wings.

The Warriors, who dismantled Ospreys by 42-17, will be out to make it four wins from five attempts, with the only blemish on their season record thus far being a shock loss to Benetton in Round One.

Glasgow head coach Franco Smith spoke highly of the Bulls and stated that his side must be at their very best to secure a winning result.

“We know we must be at our best this weekend, as we look to finish the first block of fixtures on a high,” Smith said.

“The Bulls possess one of the strongest and deepest squads in the URC.

“They are consistent in the quality of performances they produce, and their track record – including reaching three of the first four URC Finals – shows the calibre and quality of squad they have at their disposal.

“We know we must be at the right level physically and mentally to meet their challenge on Friday night.”

Smith was also 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 RFC.

“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.”

Prediction 

@rugby365: Glasgow Warriors by six points

Teams

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Steyn (captain), 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
Replacements: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Alex Craig, 21 Euan Ferrie, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Dan Lancaster

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Keagan Johannes, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Reinhardt Ludwig, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Juann Else, 17 Etienne Janneke, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 JJ Theron, 20 Nama Xaba, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Kurt-Lee Arendse.

Date: Friday, October 24
Venue: Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
Kick-off: 19.45 (20.45 SAST, 18.45 GMT)
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Mike Adamson (Scotland), Ru Campbell (Scotland)
TMO: Keith David (Wales)