The Warriors' matador the Bulls should fear most

STAT ATTACK: As the Bulls gear up for their grudge clash, a replay of last season’s United Rugby Championship Final, they face a team that tops the statistics in a plethora of areas.

But one aspect in particular stands out, and the Bulls will be wise to seek out the name Johnny Matthews as they prepare to face the Warriors at Scotstoun on Friday.

Not only is the 31-year-old hooker the top try scorer in the comptetition with his eight tries, he is also the hooker with the second-most line-outs won (115) tied with Connacht’s Dave Heffernan while he was also the URC’s top tryscorer last season (14).

Bulls hookers Johan Grobbelaar has 97 (seventh) and Akker van der Merwe 83 (10th), and Canan Moodie is their top try scorer (six).

Matthews’ impact on the pitch is undeniable and he follows in the Malcolm Marx mould type of hooker with the exceptional ability of scoring a lot of tries.

He attributes his success to Glasgow’s mauling prowess, which regularly forces defenders to sell out to stop the maul, thereby allowing him to exploit the edges when the maul breaks down.

He couples this ability with unexpected speed, making him a formidable threat from line breaks and around the outside on the wing as well.

The Bulls’ Cameron Hanekom and Marcell Coetzee both produced sterling performances against Munster this past weekend at the breakdown, and they will be tasked to keep the quick and nimble Matthews under scrutiny.

Hanekom’s 20 tackles, two turnovers, and 33 metres from multiple carries in that game will stand the Bulls in good stead.

Flanker Coetzee led from the front with a titanic shift on defence, racking up 30 tackles, missing just one and making 10 more than any other player while he also scored his team’s only try.

In terms of attack, the Warriors have the second most clean breaks (137), defenders beaten comes in at a whopping 380 (second), while they have the best tackle success in the competition (83 percent).

The Bulls’ attack stats are 97 (10th) for clean breaks, 258 defenders beaten (15th), and they are 14th with their tackle success (77 percent).

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Matthews’ try-scoring exploits for the Caledonian side have rocketed him to rugby stardom.

The Warriors’ hooker finished the 2023/24 URC season as top try-scorer, breaking his club record by scoring 14 tries to top the standings in an historic title-winning campaign for the Warriors.

In 2022, he became the first Glasgow hooker in history to score a hat-trick for the club – a feat he repeated only a year later.

Last season against the Dragons, Matthews made history again, becoming the first Glasgow player to score five tries in a single game.

In typical Matthews fashion, he also scored on his first Scotland cap.

Matthews crossed for a hat-trick in a 40-12 home victory over Zebre Parma in May 2022; the feat made him the first hooker ever to score three times in one game for the club, as well as becoming the first Glasgow player to score a hat-trick since Niko Matawalu away to the Ospreys in 2018.

He repeated the feat against the same opposition a year later, scoring another hat-trick in the same fixture as the Warriors earned a 50-8 win over Zebre Parma in March 2023.

Matthews then went on to create club history against the Dragons at Scotstoun, crossing for five tries in a single match – a feat never before achieved by a Glasgow Warrior.

Further history followed at the end of 2023, as a try in victory over Edinburgh at Scotstoun saw the hooker become the first Warrior to ever record 20 tries in a calendar year.