Two South African stars will lead from the front when the Glasgow Warriors host Toulon in Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup quarter-final at Scotstoun Stadium.
Glasgow winger Kyle Steyn and Toulon lock David Ribbans were both born and raised in South Africa, before going on to represent Scotland and England respectively.
Franco Smith’s Glasgow advanced to the last-eight with a 25-21 home win over the Vodacom Bulls, while Toulon edged the Stormers 28-27 at the Stade Mayol.
Steyn believes his side must raise their game on Saturday top progress to the semi-finals.
“We were very happy to get the win and we put in a lot of good work in spurts, but we all know that we were a little bit off in some areas,” the wing told Scottish Rugby.
“The pressure the Bulls put us under played a big part in that, but we know that we need to improve going into this weekend.
“We’re happy to have another week at home, though, and everyone knows the history and heritage Toulon have in this competition. We’re excited for another massive match this weekend.”
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The Warriors will host their first-ever home quarter-final in the competition, but face a club steeped in European pedigree. Toulon won a hat-trick of European titles between 2013-2015 – the only club to have achieved this feat.
“Toulon are a different beast again when you compare their style of play to the Bulls,” Steyn added. “They’re no stranger to knockout rugby and they know how to get results in these big one-off matches, so we know what’s coming.”
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Former Glasgow captain Ryan Wilson believes the timing could be perfect for the Scottish outfit to make a serious title push.
“It’s now or never when it comes to Glasgow’s prospects of winning the Champions Cup,” Wilson told the Daily Mail, pointing to a host of high-profile departures at the end of the season.
“At home, Glasgow are such a tough nut to crack. Even when they’re trailing, you feel they’re going to come back. There’s a calmness in the squad — if they stick to the plan, it usually works out.”
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However, Wilson also warned against underestimating Toulon.
“They’re a club with an incredible European pedigree as three-time champions. This is set up to be a cracking contest.”
GLASGOW WARRIORS – 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Steyn (c), 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Ollie Smith, 10 Dan Lancaster, 9 Ben Afshar, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Olujare Oguntibeju, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 1 Patrick Schickerling
Bench: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Euan Ferrie, 21 Angus Fraser, 22 Jack Oliver, 23 Adam Hastings.
PLAY: Investec Champions Cup game centre
TOULON – 15 Melvyn Jaminet, 14 Gaël Drean, 13 Nacho Brex, 12 Jérémy Sinzelle, 11 Setariki Tuicuvu, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Ben White, 8 Mikheil Shioshvili, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Junior Kpoku, 5 David Ribbans (c), 4 Corentin Mezou, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Teddy Baubigny, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros
Bench: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Daniel Brennan, 18 Beka Gigashvili, 19 Matthias Halagahu, 20 Zach Mercer, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Esteban Abadie, 23 Mathis Ferte
Photos: David Rogers/Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
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