GLASGOW WARRIORS head coach Franco Smith is going to be stuck back in Scotland watching the game on television when his side take on a star-studded Sharks line-up in Durban this afternoon, due to his UK work visa not yet being approved.
If he leaves the country now, he will have to restart the application process, so the South African wasn’t able to fly out to his homeland with the rest of the squad on Monday, meaning attack coach Nigel Carolan is leading operations on the ground until the situation is resolved.
“We are monitoring it very closely, hoping he is here as soon as possible,” said Glasgow managing director Al Kellock. “It generally takes about three weeks [for the visa application to be completed], and we are past that point now, so we were hopeful it would have been done by now, but it hasn't come through in time.
“It could come through at any moment and he could be on a plane straightaway. But we have run out of time and flights to get him over for this game, so Nigel and the rest of the coaching team will take care of the decision-making during the game.”
The absence of Smith is an added complication which Glasgow could really do without as they prepare to face a Sharks team featuring its international stars for the first time this season.
Man-mountain Eben Etzebeth will make his debut for the franchise in the second-row following his move home from Toulon during the summer.
Meanwhile, Springbok captain Siya Kolisi alongside fellow 2019 World Cup winners Bongi Mbonambi and Makazole Mapimpi are set to make big impacts off the bench.
“I’ve been in contact with Franco and he had input earlier in the week, so his stamp is firmly on the game-plan and the mind-set for this game,” said Carolan. “It is extremely challenging and frustrating for him not to be here, but we know what we are about, and we are well focussed on what needs to be done to win.
“More of their international players are on the bench rather than the starting side so I guess they are looking to finish the game strongly and are looking at how we performed at home last week when we disposed of the Bulls very much the Glasgow way,” he continued.
“The challenge now is to bring our game on the road and there is no better place to do that than in Durban against a Sharks side packed with Springboks.
“We certainly don’t want to go hand-to-hand combat against them. We feel our advantage is moving the ball around and finding space.
“If the weather turns or if plan A isn’t working then we know what we need to do to adapt – but we’re going out there to play our style of rugby.”
Carolan also backed fit again Ollie Smith to make a big impact, with his selection at full-back meaning that Josh McKay moves to the wing.
“They are two players who can really turn a game on its head, so hopefully Ollie will relish the occasion,” he said.
In the pack, South African summer recruit Sintu Manjezi makes his first start in the second-row, with Scott Cummings shifting to blindside flanker and Gregor Brown dropping to the bench.
“That’s a horses for courses selection,” explained Carolan. “We know that they are going to have a big pack, and they’ve got a scrum and line-out threat. Scott is a very experienced player and he’s played a bit at six in the past, he’s another confident ball-carrier, and it gives us another option in our line-out as well.
“We think Gregor is making huge strides, but he is still a young man in the very early stages of the bright career he’s got ahead of him, so it is about managing him as well. And it also gives Sintu – who is well used to this climate and this opposition – his first start.”
“The Sharks supporters are really excited about this team selection,” Carolan added. “They are expecting 25-30,000, so it is going to be a real occasion, and an occasion we are going to relish.
“There is no better challenge for us to try and silence that crowd by playing the Glasgow way, which we know we can.”
Glasgow Warriors (v Cell C Sharks at Kings Park, Saturday @ 3.05pm): O Smith; S Cancelliere, S Tuipulotu (captain), S Johnson, J McKay; T Jordan, A Price ; J Bhatti, G Turner, Z Fagerson, S Manjezi, R Gray, S Cummings, T Gordon, M Fagerson. Substitutes: F Brown, O Kebble, M Walker, JP du Preez, R Wilson, G Brown, G Horne, R Thompson.
Cell C Sharks: A Fassi; W Kok, M Potgeiter, V Tapuai, A Volmink; B Chamberlain, J Hendrike; N Mchunu, K van Vuuren, T du Toit, E Etzbeth, H Andrews, D Richardson, V Tshituka, P Buthelezi. Substitutes: B Mbonambi, O Nche, C Sadie, R Hugo, K Kolisi, S Notshe, C Wright, M Mapimpi.
