Prop Fin Richardson has vowed that the Glasgow Warriors will come out with far more intensity against the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday.
The Vodacom URC log leaders were demolished 54-12 by the Lions in Johannesburg last week and Richardson said the team was determined to respond with a statement performance.
Richardson was one of nine changes to the starting line-up as coach Franco Smith opted for rotation to rest key players after a long season.
Attention now shifts to a crucial top-of-the-table clash, with the Stormers also looking to bounce back after a disappointing defeat at home to Connacht.
“We’ll be looking to go out and show that, to test our mettle against what we consider one of the best teams in the league,” Richardson said this week.
“We do feel that we’ve got a point to prove, that we’re not going to peter off towards the end of the season. We’ve got more to give.
“With that energy comes an eagerness to perform and to put your body on the line for the badge,” he said. “You can expect us to come out with more intensity than we did last week.”
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Many pundits are not reading too much into the Lions result given the much changed line-up and that for many Glasgow players it was their first time in South Africa and also first time playing at altitude.
“It’s a new challenge. One that I hadn’t necessarily experienced before,” Richardson said of the Ellis Park test.
“We knew it [altitude] was coming and had protocols in place, but in truth there’s nothing quite like being there.”
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The tighthead described the physical toll of playing so high above sea level.
“From the off, you definitely notice the difference. You feel it in training, when you’re resting, even when you’re eating … my appetite just disappeared.
“It was ever-present, from the warm-up to the end. You’re running on empty. Lungs burning, heart about to explode, just gasping for a bit of extra oxygen, but it’s not there.”
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Richardson was part of a group of Glasgow players who held a rugby clinic for young players from Paarl Boys’ Primary and Nederburg Primary in Paarl on Monday.
The event formed part of the URC’s Communities United campaign which encourages URC clubs to engage in cross-hemisphere community activities when teams are travelling.
Photo: Glasgow Warriors
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