Glasgow Warriors reaction: Franco Smith detects nerves in team but hails strong defence

Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith watches on as his team recorded another victory, this time against the Lions.

Franco Smith detected a nervousness in the Glasgow Warriors performance but they did enough to hold out against the Emirates Lions in the quarter-finals of the EPCR Challenge Cup.

The 31-21 win at Scotstoun means Smith’s side will play the Scarlets in the semis in Wales, but they had to battle all the way against their South African opponents. “It was an interesting performance in the sense that we didn't have the ball much,” said the Glasgow coach. “We looked nervous in attack which is uncommon, but I can understand why - there’s a lot of passion and the guys don’t want to disappoint. There was a fantastic effort in defence.

“The errors that we made were uncommon, we missed lineouts, we dropped the ball after one phase, we were turned over - we were just inaccurate attack-wise. Unfortunately, that’s where you see if the players are managing the pressure. They were good at playing without the ball tonight, which shows their commitment. That was important. I can’t blame the effort, I can’t blame them for making mistakes. I can say that we haven’t been in this situation where we’re playing for a semi-final. The club’s first home quarter-final – they’re excited. So there’s a lot of expectation around the team from players who have been playing well the whole season. That is the lesson that we’ll take from that and we’ll manage the emotion better this week.”

Glasgow can now look forward to their first ever European semi-final after four previous defeats at the quarter-final stage. “It’s fantastic for the club and I’m pleased to be a part of it,” added Smith. “[Scarlets] are playing well at the moment. Every game is important now, so we will take things one game at a time.”

The other semi-final will be between Toulon and Benetton, with the final in Dublin on May 19.