Franco Smith targets home advantage as Glasgow face Bulls in URC semi-final at Murrayfield

Glasgow Warriors will host the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship semi-final at Murrayfield next Saturday, with head coach Franco Smith insisting his side must extract every possible benefit from playing on familiar Scottish soil.

Glasgow secured their place in the last four with a 33-21 victory over Connacht, while the Bulls advanced a day later by dismantling Munster 45-14. The Warriors are unable to use their usual Scotstoun home for the play-off stages — the venue has been handed over to Glasgow 2026 organisers ahead of this summer’s Commonwealth Games — so Murrayfield will serve as their base for the remainder of the competition, a ground where several squad members have played regularly for Scotland.

“We’re going to train at Scotstoun on Monday and Tuesday and then on Thursday we’ll have a training session at Murrayfield,” Smith said. “So we’ve just obviously got to make that home advantage count where we can. I think recovery this week is going to be very important, like it always is, but we’ve got one benefit — the team that we play will travel this week and we don’t.”

Smith acknowledged the logistical edge his squad holds over a Bulls side that must fly from South Africa, and framed the week’s preparation around capitalising on that difference. “It is going to be my job to make sure that we take every benefit and every home advantage that we can,” he added.

The coach was careful not to look past the semi-final, though he did not hide his excitement at the prospect of a home final at Murrayfield should Glasgow progress. “What a privilege it would be,” Smith said. “But, again, I want to, from the start of this week, give emphasis on getting across this hurdle. It would be fantastic. Imagine playing the final in Murrayfield. It will be just unbelievable. But, hopefully, that is the last word this week spoken about it.”