Quartet nominated for March Warrior of the Month

29 Mar 2023

Four standout performers have been nominated for the McCrea Financial Services Warrior of the Month award for March, after a month that saw Glasgow Warriors lock up a place in the BKT United Rugby Championship playoffs.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - MARCH 03: Warriors Johnny Matthews celebrates his third try during a BKT United Rugby Championship match between Glasgow Warriors and Zebre Parma at Scotstoun Stadium, on March 03, 2023, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

A 50-8 dismantling of Zebre Parma at Scotstoun saw the Warriors kick-off the month in style, running in eight tries against their Scottish-Italian Shield counterparts.

Franco Smith’s men then produced a performance for the ages to earn a superb 38-26 win away to Munster, a first triumph at Thomond Park since 2014 also securing both a quarter-final berth and the Scottish-Italian Shield for the Warriors.

Supporters can vote for their winner until 12pm on Saturday 1 April on the club’s official Twitter channel.

The nominees are:

Johnny Matthews

Hooker Matthews enjoyed an historic start to the month of March, crossing for his second hat-trick in Glasgow colours in the 50-8 victory over Zebre Parma.

The Liverpool-born Scotland A international became the first Warrior to cross for a treble since himself a year ago, having touched down three times in the 2022 victory over the same opponents.

He then came off the bench to help the Warriors secure victory at Thomond Park, playing his part in the historic triumph in Limerick.

Sam Johnson

Johnson’s form across the month of March sees the centre nominated for a second successive month, having been narrowly edged into second place by Stafford McDowall for the February award.

The Scotland international played the full 80 minutes in both of Glasgow’s fixtures in March, his brand of direct running and impressive distribution playing a key role in the Warriors attack.

A superbly-timed offload saw Johnson help set up Cole Forbes’ try against Munster, whilst his defensive resolve saw him combine with McDowall in a formidable midfield combination.

Scott Cummings

Having returned from injury at the tail end of February, Cummings has returned to the heart of the Glasgow pack during the month of March.

Usually deployed in the second-row, he picked off two lineout steals in the win over Zebre Parma after starting on the blindside flank, combining well with JP du Preez and Lewis Bean in the defensive lineout.

Cummings then played the full 80 minutes at Thomond Park, leading from the front in both attack and defence.

JP du Preez

Du Preez also sees himself nominated for the second successive month, the big second-rower continuing his run of being involved in every Glasgow Warriors matchday 23 in the BKT URC bar the opening round of the season.

The man from Roodeport scored his first try in Glasgow colours in the home win over Zebre Parma, crashing through two defenders to touch down in front of the West Stand.

The 6ft 11in second-rower then started in the victory over Munster, putting in an abrasive shift on both sides of the ball for Smith’s men.

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