Tough scrum battle on the cards for Stormers in Glasgow URC clash

A tough scrum battle is on the cards for the Stormers when they take on Glasgow Warriors on an artificial 4G pitch in their United Rugby Championship (URC) match-up on Sunday afternoon (kick-off 5pm).

In what should be a tricky encounter for the defending URC champs, they will need to get to grips with the surface as soon as possible, so to try and assert their forward dominance and give their exciting backline a platform to attack off.

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The lineouts will also be an interesting battle in the match with the Stormers having a mini injury crisis in the position, and Marvin Orie will play a pivotal part in guiding it.

“They have a very good scrum and they play regularly on the artificial turf. We look forward to putting some things in place to get that edge,” explained Stormers prop Brok Harris ahead of the match.

“The most important thing when playing on an artificial pitch is to win the speed of the engagement. That pitch doesn’t allow you to recover like on a grass pitch, so the focus will definitely be on being quick on the mark in the scrums.

“In terms of the line-outs, Glasgow is one of the top contesting sides in the competition, so we will definitely have to consider our options well. At least there won’t be any grass-burns, as it rains all the time.”

Plenty experience

Harris has plenty of experience playing on artificial pitches in the UK having made over a hundred appearances for the Dragons in Newport, so knows exactly what to expect and believes Glasgow’s style of play will suit the Stormers.

“The stadium’s pretty decent. Back in the day, it was still grass, and with all the rain and not much sun, it was a bit soggy. But they changed it to an artificial 4G, so the field won’t be a problem,” explained Harris.

“I also think Franco (Smith, Glasgow coach), likes his players to give the ball a little bit of air, and that suits us. So it’s a really nice field, we can’t control the conditions but at least it won’t be a muddy field.”

Harris is known for his dual roles in the front row, being equally adept at playing tighthead or loosehead prop, and he is now doing the same on and off the field, with him putting on his coaching hat when not in the match 23.

“It was always my intention to go into the coaching side of it when I eventually finish playing. It’s actually nice to have one foot in the coaching camp and one in the playing camp and I am really enjoying it at the moment,” said Harris.