'It’s almost reckless': Glasgow simulating Stormers' big weapon in training

SPOTLIGHT: Glasgow Warriors are hard at work putting plans in place to deal with the Stormers’ rush defence.

The two teams will clash in a Round 12 United Rugby Championship encounter at Scotstoun Stadium on Sunday.

The Scottish side has been enjoying some great form recently but they know the Stormers will represent a totally different beast.

“The Stormers are so different to every other team you play against, not only are they the reigning URC champions but they defend in a way which is different,” Glasgow assistant coach Nigel Carolan told The Scotsman newspaper.

“They bring an unbelievable amount of line-speed, it’s almost reckless, and you really need to earn the right to find the space. You do that by taking them through a number of phases and then opportunities will open up.

“It is a great challenge which is really focussing the minds of not only the coaches but also the players.”

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Carolan explained that they have been simulating the Stormers’ defence in training this week.

“We’ve challenged the ‘other team’ to create that picture and simulate as much as possible how hard that line-speed comes during our training runs this week,” he said.

“The defence comes so hard at you that it puts you in a position where you have less time on the ball and have to make quicker decisions. The execution of skills has to be on the money, but when you see the space and you get the ball there, there can be a lot of opportunity as well.

“These opportunities are not necessarily there on the first or second or third phase, but as you take them through the phases the space starts to open up – through them, around them, in behind them.

“We saw when the Stormers played [and lost] at Cardiff a few weeks back that it is very difficult to maintain that level of line-speed for every phase, and eventually they get a bit clustered, the backfield gets compromised, and space opens up. We just have to be patient, take them through the phases, and then identify opportunities as they arise.”

Source: The Scotsman