Glasgow Warriors | Brown excited by Warriors growth on and off the field
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October 01, 2026

Brown excited by Warriors growth on and off the field

Posted by Editor on October 1, 2026 11:54 AM | No comments | Print | E-mail author

Kenny Brown believes an increasingly youthful squad can help drive Warriors forward
Glasgow Warriors Managing Director Kenny Brown believes an increasingly youthful squad can help drive the club forward, as the Warriors prepare to return home to Scotstoun this weekend.

Brown has highlighted the changing profile of Franco Smith's playing group, with the average age of the Glasgow squad having dropped significantly over the last three seasons.

Nine academy players who made their senior debuts last season have subsequently signed professional contracts with the club, with Brown excited by the opportunity for the next generation to continue their development at Scotstoun.

"To see so many of our academy players make their senior debuts for the club last season was important and impressive, too," said Brown.

"Nine of those players have signed professional contracts with us this summer, so it's brilliant to see the next generation of players coming through and showing what they can do. We can't wait to see these guys continue their growth and development with us.

"If we think back to 2023/24, the average age of our squad was just under 29. This season, it'll be just under 25. It's a younger group, an ambitious group and a group that's eager to make its mark."

The changes on the field come alongside continued growth away from it, with Glasgow having surpassed their Season Ticket sales target ahead of the new campaign.

The club's commercial network has also expanded, with Brown pointing to the progress being made across the organisation.

"Off the field, we have more commercial partners than we've ever had before, and we've already surpassed our Season Ticket sales target, so it's brilliant to see the growth off the field matching the growth on the field."

The Warriors will finally return to Scotstoun against Ulster this weekend following a summer in which the stadium has undergone significant work ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Preparations began almost immediately following Glasgow's URC quarter-final victory over Connacht last season, with the club simultaneously preparing for their semi-final and relocating their summer training operation.

"The last time supporters were here was for our BKT URC quarter-final win over Connacht, and it was pretty much straight after that victory that work began," said Brown.

"Right off the back of that game, we started to de-rig the stadium. By Monday morning, the West Stand had been taken down to allow the Commonwealth Games overlay to commence. Through that following week, we were not only preparing for a semi-final, but also setting up training venues at West of Scotland RFC and Allander Sports Centre for our summer training.

"It was an incredible effort from a small team of people, and it speaks volumes about the character and mindset of everyone here to take on that challenge.

"It's been a summer of displacement and disruption, and it would have been easy to make excuses and dwell on that. Instead, the way everyone has embraced the challenge and taken it on is a testament to the quality of people we have at the club.

"Our new pitch has now been completed and we're almost ready to welcome our supporters back to Scotstoun once more."

There is also significant development within Glasgow Warriors' women's programme ahead of the new season.

Nine players are returning to Scotland from Premiership Women's Rugby in England, with 19 players set to be fully contracted as the programme continues to grow.

"We're really excited about our women's programme this season, too," said Brown.

"We'll be joined by nine players returning to Scotland from Premiership Women's Rugby in England, which means we'll have 19 fully contracted players with us. We're excited to see the squad kick on again."

Another major focus for the club will be the 1872 Cup meeting with Edinburgh at Hampden Park.

This season's fixture has been moved to April, making it Glasgow's final home match of the regular season, with the club looking to develop the occasion into an increasingly significant event in the Scottish rugby calendar.

"Finally, there's a big sense of excitement around our 1872 Cup match at Barclays Hampden this season, which we've moved to make our final home match of the regular season in April," said Brown.

"It's a real opportunity for us to grow that game and make it a showpiece event at the business end of the season. As the season progresses and the weather improves, we tend to see interest in events like this grow, and we're confident and excited about our ability to grow that game."

Brown also highlighted the club's work in the wider Glasgow community, with just short of one hundred thousand pounds raised for Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity last season.

That took the total generated through the Fighting for our Families campaign beyond a quarter of a million pounds over the past four seasons.

"To have achieved so much off the field as well, including raising 92,000 pounds for Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity and taking the total raised through our Fighting for our Families campaign beyond 250,000 pounds over the past four seasons, shows how much the cause means to the club."

Glasgow now turn their attention to Saturday's meeting with Ulster as the Warriors play at Scotstoun for the first time in the 2026/27 campaign.