Match Preview | Pre-season | Connacht (H)

• 5 Sep 2024
• Match Preview

The URC Champions return to Scotstoun for the first time this season. They face fellow league side Connacht in their final pre-season fixture.

The last time that Franco Smith’s men played at Scotstoun Stadium, they saw off DHL Stormers 27-10 in the quarterfinal on their path to winning the BKT United Rugby Championship.

With new signings and returning players, this is the Warrior Nation’s first chance to watch their side run out in the fortress that is Scotstoun Stadium on Saturday 7 September.

This will be the second and final pre-season match for Head Coach Franco Smith. Whilst the squad that faced Italian side Zebre Parma on Saturday 31 August were young and fresh to the club, there will certainly have been lessons to learn following the defeat. As mentioned by Franco himself, this has been a pre-season for giving the youngsters around the squad a feel for the level of rugby that is expected in the URC and beyond.

Two players who missed out last weekend were Adam Hastings and Rory Sutherland. Both were involved in Scotland’s Summer Tour and come into the 2024/25 with their new club to call home. Hastings has been here before of course, featuring 53 times and scoring 407 points in his time here between 2017-2021.

For Sutherland, Scotstoun is new territory, and supporters will be looking forward to welcoming the British and Irish Lion to the club.

Familiar faces will be back in the building as the champions return, including international stars Richie Gray, Jack Dempsey, and Kyle Rowe.

Connacht are the visitors, and with the Irish side overcoming Sale Sharks last weekend in a friendly to start their 2024/25 season, they’ll be looking to continue that momentum into this fixture.

Connacht are also rotating their younger players in their pre-season games. The Irish side handed starts out last weekend to new signings Piers O’Conor, Adam McBurney, David O’Connor and Ben Murphy as well as a host of academy graduates.

One thing that is for sure is that both teams will be looking for a positive result to take forward into the quickly forthcoming season.