“We knew we just had to stick to our processes” | McDowall

• 20 Oct 2024
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When Grant Williams dived over the Glasgow Warriors try-line with just under 10 minutes to play, the calmest place in the stadium may well have been inside the Scotstoun side’s team huddle.

For Stafford McDowall and his fellow Warriors, it was all about trusting the system that has taken them this far – a trust that was rewarded in spectacular style with two late tries to secure a brace of valuable bonus-points.

“The message was just to stick to our processes and results will come,” the centre told glasgowwarriors.org at full-time in Durban.

“We talked all week about how the Sharks will benefit if we come away from our structure and the game starts being loose, so we were clear in that huddle that we just needed to stick to our guns and take our chances when they came.

“That last seven minutes showed the results of that, and to come away with those two late tries was really pleasing for us.”

Despite picking up two bonus-points, McDowall admitted that there was a sense of frustration at the final whistle to not be coming away with more from their visit to Hollywoodbets Kings Park.

Yet the centre once again underlined the determination and dedication of Franco Smith’s men to stick to their task, with every point likely to count come the end of the season.

“We’re pleased to come away with two points given the position we were in with five minutes to go, but it shows how far this group has come that we’re disappointed that we weren’t closer to the win towards the end of the match,” said McDowall.

“We’ve dug in throughout that match and come up with some big defensive sets, so it’s a disappointment that we haven’t come away with more.

“The effort in this group is just quality, though, and the way we stuck at it to come away with the two points shows that.”

With one leg of the South African double-header now in the history books, attentions now turn to Danie Craven Stadium next Saturday, and a clash with perennial playoff contenders DHL Stormers in Stellenbosch.

Having taken on a Sharks squad packed with international stars, McDowall is ready for another mouthwatering clash in just a week’s time.

“The Sharks put out an unbelievable team on paper – when you look through that team, with 14 Springboks in the 23, they’re always going to present a massive challenge to any team,” said the centre.

“I thought we fronted up really well from one to 23 though, especially some of the younger lads like Gregor Hiddleston and Max [Williamson] who more than matched their opposite numbers.

“We know the Stormers are going to bring just as big a challenge next week, so we’ll go back to Stellenbosch this week, work hard and drive each other to make sure we’re in the best possible position by the time next Saturday comes around.”

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