Four talking points as Franco Smith’s side earn hard fought win on eve of Scotland squad selection
Published 25th Oct 2026, 08:00 GMT
Glasgow Warriors showed great character and fight to secure a 24-20 win over Benetton in Treviso on Saturday.
Franco Smith’s side were 17-0 down early in the second half but a yellow card for Mattia Midena shifted the momentum as they ran in three tries during the second row’s ten minutes in the sin bin. Glasgow still had work to do though but dug deep with Jare Oguntibeju’s 78th minute score securing the victory and the bonus point as well.
Here are four key talking points from Warriors’ latest URC win:
1. ‘Sticking to task’ - Far from a classic performance but result all that matters
The old cliché in sport goes that the top teams find a way to win matches when they’re not at their best. Glasgow Warriors certainly weren’t at their best in Italy this weekend but they still had enough determination and ability to get the result that mattered.
Franco Smith said after the game that they would have lost if they hadn’t ‘stuck to task’, which is bang on. They took full advantage of the sin binning, which they simply had to do, and then didn’t let handling errors and mistakes frustrate them in the closing stages as they chased the win.
It was by no means a terrible Warriors performance, and credit to Benetton who fronted up well, but it was far from the heights they’re capable of. If you’re going to have an off day then doing it and still finding a route to victory isn’t such a bad thing.
2. Scotland stars with selection question marks make their case
Gregor Townsend will name his Scotland squad for their upcoming Nations Championship November Test matches on Monday. The likes of Scott Cummings, Zander Fagerson, Kyle Steyn and many more were all nailed on call ups before this game but what about those who feasibly could have missed out?
Rory Sutherland returned to the Warriors team with a strong showing capped off by a massive scrum penalty in the first half where he folded his opposition prop in half. He won’t be missing out now.
Then there’s Jamie Ritchie, making his debut and playing his first rugby in some time since recovering from injury. He was maybe a wee bit rusty and at times looked like someone still getting used to a new team but overall it was a solid outing.
He already looked like a leader in the group and showed how influential he can be at both line-out time and in open play. The former national team skipper was already likely to be included if he stayed fit but a strong debut for Warriors only strengthens his case.
Ollie Smith is expected to be in the squad too which is mainly down to his versatility but he was another with a strong individual performance. It’s a reminder that the ‘Swiss army knife’ player earns his call ups on talent as well as versatility.
3. Jamie Dobie’s best position answered?
Not exactly, but it would be fair to say he has impressed far more as a winger this season than he did back at scrum-half against Benetton. He still had a good game overall, particularly in the second half where his tempo put the hosts under a lot of pressure.
The fact he’s a quality operator in both positions is such an asset for both Glasgow and Scotland. He is on record as saying that, if given the choice, he does prefer the nine jersey but right now he probably feels more like a winger who can play scrum half than a scrum half who can play winger.
4. Gregor Brown gets more minutes at number 8
Speaking of versatility, let’s talk about Gregor Brown. He played number 8 for Scotland against Fiji in the summer and said earlier this season how he enjoyed it and was happy to cover there whenever called upon.
He’s now done it twice for Glasgow this season, moving back from the second row mid match, and hasn’t looked out of place. Much like Dobie’s ability to play two positions at such a high level, Brown being able to operate in as many as he does so well is a really impressive string in his bow and it can only be a good thing for club and country.
With the additions of Ruwald van der Merwe, who can play across the back row, and another utility back in Bayley Kuenzele this summer it means that Franco Smith has an unprecedented ‘versatile player depth’ at Scotstoun.
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