“Proud of the belief” | Young Warriors show their fight

Those that made the journey down to Tyneside would have been rewarded with an insight into the next generation of talents vying to pull on the jersey in competitive action, as a youthful Glasgow squad showed no fear in the face of a vastly experienced Newcastle Red Bulls outfit.

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Whilst ultimately going down to a 47-31 defeat at the hands of their hosts, Head Coach Franco Smith was quick to underline the positives his squad could take as preparations continue for the 2026/27 campaign.

“It’s not about the result at this stage,” said Smith.

“I’m sure Newcastle got what they wanted from the game, but for us it was about getting guys like Dan Halkon, Jake Shearer, Dylan Cockburn and Tavi Tuipulotu game time. These are guys that we need to introduce into our environment, and they’ll go away having learned from today. They’ll know what the coaching is going to focus on and where they can grow.

“I’m really pleased with the fightback in the second half [Glasgow outscored their opponents 24-14 in the second 40 minutes] and to not lose faith in the process. That’s what I’m most proud of, the belief – it doesn’t matter about the result, the belief the players showed and the fight.

“In the first half, I think we fell off too many tackles defensively so there are some improvements we can make there, but we’ll be taking a lot of lessons and a lot of positives as we move into the next couple of weeks.”

Smith was also keen to underline the benefits of his squad testing themselves against a squad laden with top-flight experience, with the Newcastle back-line containing two British & Irish Lions in the form of Christian Wade and Chris Harris, in addition to the Super Rugby nous of captain Tom Christie.

“We all know what Newcastle were up to over the summer, but we never spoke about them this week. It was all about ourselves and what we can do,” explained Smith.

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“There’s a lot of learning that can be done by the young guys when they defend against someone like Chris Harris in the outside centre position, with all his experience of Premiership and international rugby.

“They’re also a very well coached team, their coaching group has been around for a long time and brings a lot of their own experience too, so it was a good chance for our players to test themselves.”

Another experienced English challenger lies in wait in just under a fortnight’s time, as the Warriors welcome Bath to Old Anniesland to conclude their pre-season preparations.

“I must give compliments to the coaching group, plus all of the S&C guys, the physios, the analysts, everyone who’s been working behind the scenes across the off-season to put this group together,” said Smith.

“The whole programme is built on trust, and the players arrived at Scotstoun really fit and raring to go, and everyone is building well together.”