You can read more of Disco's thoughts on Glasgow's pursuit of the PRO14 title and European progress, Scotland's international fortunes, and much, much more at his excellent blog Top of the Moon.
KO 3.15
Scotstoun Stadium
Saturday 11th January
Live on BT Sport 2
This will be the 600th competitive match in the history of Glasgow Warriors as a professional team. Hopefully, the club can mark the occasion with their 291st win!
Champions Cup stats:
- Glasgow have won 7 and lost 3 of their games when they been at home in the Champions Cup for Round 5.
- Overall the Warriors have 10 wins in matches in the penultimate rounds of the pool stages - more than at any other stage of the competition.
- This will be the 26th Champions Cup match played at Scotstoun. Glasgow's record at the venue is currently won 13, lost 12.
Teams
15 Glenn Bryce
14 Tommy Seymour
13 Huw Jones
12 Sam Johnson
11 Kyle Steyn
10 Adam Hastings
9 George Horne
1 Oli Kebble
2 Fraser Brown
3 Zander Fagerson
4 Scott Cummings
5 Jonny Gray
6 Ryan Wilson (Co-Captain)
7 Callum Gibbins (Co-Captain)
8 Matt Fagerson
Substitutes
16 George Turner
17 Aki Seiuli
18 Adam Nicol
19 Robert Harley
20 Chris Fusaro
21 Ali Price
22 Peter Horne
23 Nikola Matawalu
Exeter Chiefs
15 Stuart Hogg
14 Jack Nowell
13 Ian Whitten
12 Ollie Devoto
11 Olly Woodburn
10 Joe Simmonds (Captain)
9 Nic White
1 Alec Hepburn
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie
3 Enrique Heiland
4 Jannes Kirsten
5 Sean Lonsdale
6 Dave Ewers
7 Jacques Vermeulen
8 Matt Kvesic
Substitutes
16 Elvis Taione
17 Ben Moon
18 Marcus Street
19 Will Witty
20 Don Armand
21 Jack Maunders
22 Gareth Steenson
23 Sam Hill
Head-To-Head
15 ADV Exeter Chiefs
14 ADV Exeter Chiefs
13 ADV Glasgow Warriors
12 EVEN
11 ADV Glasgow Warriors
10 EVEN
9 ADV Glasgow Warriors
1 EVEN
2 ADV Glasgow Warriors
3 ADV Glasgow Warriors
4 EVEN
5 ADV Glasgow Warriors
6 ADV Exeter Chiefs
7 ADV Exeter Chiefs
8 ADV Glasgow Warriors
Substitutes
16 EVEN
17 ADV Exeter Chiefs
18 EVEN
19 ADV Glasgow Warriors
20 ADV Exeter Chiefs
21 ADV Glasgow Warriors
22 ADV Exeter Chiefs
23 ADV Glasgow Warriors
Starting XV stats:
BACKS
Champions Cup tries
Exeter Chiefs - 14
Glasgow Warriors - 25
Champions Cup appearances
Exeter Chiefs - 96
Glasgow Warriors - 180
Average age
Exeter Chiefs - 26.7
Glasgow Warriors - 27.7
Capped players
Exeter Chiefs - 5
Glasgow Warriors - 5
FORWARDS
Pack weights
Exeter Chiefs - 904kg
Glasgow Warriors - 898kg
Champions Cup appearances
Exeter Chiefs - 169
Glasgow Warriors - 80
Average age
Exeter Chiefs - 26.8
Glasgow Warriors - 26.5
Capped players
Exeter Chiefs - 6
Glasgow Warriors - 5
Glasgow Greetings:
Saturday's game will feature Glenn Bryce's first Champions Cup start. The full back's only previous experience in this tournament came 4 years ago when he replaced Sean Lamont against Racing 92 in Paris.
Once A Warrior:
There will be an affectionate off-pitch reception for one of the club's favourite sons, Stuart Hogg, as he returns to Scotstoun for the first time with his new team. There may also be a reception committee waiting for him on the pitch - but they're unlikely to be quite as welcoming! They will need to catch him first mind you...
Matchday Milestones:
Tommy Seymour will tie Andy Henderson's record for the most appearances in European competition by a Glasgow back (41). Ten of Muffles' games came in the Challenge Cup so Tommy is out on his own when it comes to the Champions Cup.
Warrior to Watch:
Things have definitely been on the up for Huw Jones over the last month. It's maybe not quite at the stage of bringing out the "10 Things I Rate About Huw" article but with a try and a couple of quality assists allied to clean breaks and a raft of defenders beaten the outside centre is beginning to look an awful lot more like fella who was torching defences for Scotland not that long ago.
The numbers suggest he's currently trying to be more of a distributor, getting close to an even split between passing and carrying the ball himself (46% pass / 50% run / 4% kick). It feels like when the confidence really starts flowing he'll back himself a bit more (he carries 60% of the time for Scotland). For now, there's the opportunity for his teammates to take advantage of that creativity which can hopefully unlock what is a fairly miserly Exeter defence.
Glasgow's Track Record...
...against English sides in the pool stages of the European Cup:
- 14 wins (12 at home, 2 away)
- 29 losses (8 at home, 21 away)
Most recent meeting at Scotstoun:
20/10/18 Scotstoun Report
Glasgow Warriors 28
T: Stuart Hogg, Penalty Try, Tommy Seymour, Matt Fagerson
C: Finn Russell (3)
Exeter Chiefs 21
T: Sam Simmonds, Don Armand, Ian Whitten
C: Gareth Steenson (3)
This will be the third Champions Cup encounter between these two sides at Scotstoun (the Warriors won 20 - 16 in 2013). Only three Glasgow players will have featured in all three games - Tommy Seymour, Jonny Gray and Robert Harley.
There are five men in the Exeter 23 who are returning for their third European Cup match at Scotstoun - Whitten, Ewers, Moon, Armand and Steenson.
Key stats from Round 2:
The Good
13: defenders beaten by Sam Johnson and Tommy Seymour. When they found themselves in attacking positions the Glasgow backline was able to stress Exeter's midfield in particular. The trouble was not having the right kind of field position to do this more often - particularly in the second half.
The Bad
50: metres made by Glasgow's starting pack - the lowest figure from any of the club's Champions Cup matches this season. The Warriors' forwards were stifled, stymied and frequently shoved back by a physical Exeter unit. The visitors have 5 changes in their pack from the previous game and Glasgow have the weight advantage in the tight 5 (598kgs to 564kgs). Can they put in a more aggressive performance and make this count?
The Ugly
45: percentage territory for Glasgow in the second half. It wasn't even so much this figure alone, more its relationship to a possession figure of 54%. That excess of ball in hand over field position illustrates how much Glasgow were over-playing rather than thinking clearly about the territorial aspect of needing to overcoming a team with such a stuffy defensive setup.
Officials:
Referee: Romain Poite (Fra)
AR1: Vincent Blasco Baque (Fra)
AR2: Adrien Descottes (Fra)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (Fra)
As mentioned above this is the third Glasgow v Exeter fixture at Scotstoun - and all three will have been refereed by M. Poite! Outwith these games though the French official doesn't have a huge amount of previous experience of the Warriors.
His first Glasgow game was way back in November 2007 - against Saracens at Vicarage Road. Since then there have been just 7 more matches with Exeter's visit to Scotstoun in January 2018 being the most recent.
The breakdown can be a bit of a lottery when M. Poite is in charge which means Glasgow need to put a heavy emphasis on being precise at the ruck and maul. Quick, clean ball is essential for the game plan and they cannot afford to get mired in a battle at the breakdown.