The Glasgow Warriors were blown off course in Cape Town, but head coach Franco Smith remains steadfast that their United Rugby Championship title ambitions are far from sunk.
A bruising 48-12 defeat to the Stormers saw the Scottish outfit surrender top spot on the United Rugby Championship table, their defensive lines torn apart by wave after wave of blue-and-white attack. The hosts ran in six tries to two, each score another hammer blow in a contest that quickly tilted into a one-sided storm surge.
Yet Smith, unmoved by the scale of the defeat, struck a tone of calm defiance.
“I’ve got no doubt, I’ve got no doubt,” he said when asked whether Glasgow’s title push remains alive.
“I know the Stormers still have to tour. The Lions must also tour in the next two weeks, so you never know what happens there.
“And I will also remind myself and then everybody else that the log leaders never won a competition, so we never know.”
It is a bold stance from a coach whose side have now leaked over a century of points across two matches, following a 54-12 defeat to the Lions at Ellis Park. For a team once defined by defensive steel, the past fortnight has resembled a cracked dam wall, with pressure exposing every fault line.
Smith, however, refused to seek refuge in excuses.
“The last thing I want to do is to make excuses in front of the media.
“This is the tough part of the season. We knew we’d have to redefine our form after the Six Nations.”
There were mitigating factors. Squad rotation and selection gambles have left Glasgow short of their sharpest edge, and the intensity of South African opposition has proven unforgiving. But Smith hinted that the timing of the setback may yet prove a blessing disguised as a battering.
“To come down here was always going to be tough. I would lie if I said we didn’t have an eye on next week.
“But this has happened at the right time for us. I think you can’t hide from the fact that there are one or two things that need to be adjusted.”
In rugby terms, the Warriors have been forced onto the back foot, their usual rhythm disrupted, their attacking patterns stifled. Against South African sides, Smith admitted, hesitation is fatal.
“They are good teams. You give them a sniff; they take it away.
“I think we weren’t allowed to play the way we wanted to play in the last two weeks, and compliments to the South African game.
“So, it is what it is. I’m not going to make more of it. We were disappointing. We are disappointed.”
For Glasgow, the road ahead now resembles a steep uphill carry into a gale-force wind.
But as Smith insists, championships are not won in April. And if this heavy defeat serves as a tactical reset rather than a terminal collapse, the Warriors may yet find their footing when it matters most.
