THERE is not a lot of point in asking the Glasgow Warriors players about their winning performances at Sandy Park in Exeter before they head there in the Heineken Champions Cup. Only seven of the 2014 team who triumphed 15-10 could be involved in tomorrow’s game and one of them – Stuart Hogg – has switched sides to line up with the opposition.
The likes of Niko Matawalu and man-of-the-match Ruaridh Jackson probably won’t start and Chris Fusaro admits he can’t remember much about that game or the pre-season match there, which they also won.
“I don’t think there was much to play for so we went out there without any fear. It was a good fun game we managed to win,” is his entire recollection of the match.
Since then, they have been back in 2017, losing 24-15. Fusaro accepts that with the way Exeter have flourished in the five years since the teams first met in the Heineken Champions Cup, his team face a tough challenge.
“We probably are underdogs going into this game, which suits us,” he said. “We know it is going to be a hostile crowd and we saw what Exeter did to La Rochelle last week so we are well aware of where they are going to come at us.
“Two seasons ago, they targeted us up front with their pick-and-goes and their strike mauls when they got into our 22. We know what is coming but have prepared well.
“We quite like that, teams with the nitty gritty stuff. It means we can surprise them when it comes to the hard stuff. We have been building nicely with John Dalziel, the new forwards coach, picking up what [Jon] Humphreys did.”
Glasgow believe keeping the ball in play and keeping the tempo high will be key. “We try to play like that every game, we try to play a quick brand and generating quick ball is a good part of that,” Fusaro added.
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