Franco Smith said he never doubted his team’s temperament after Glasgow booked their place in the semi-finals of the United Rugby Championship with a thrilling home win over the Stormers.
Warriors had lost their previous three knock-out ties, prompting the head coach to acknowledge before the game the recent tendency of Scottish clubs to struggle in high-pressure situations.
The Scotstoun side, though, proved their mettle here in a stirring second-half showing but Smith was insistent their character was rarely in question.
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The head coach said: “We prepared well all week and stuck to the plan. We were playing against a very physical opponent and the boys fronted up. I’m proud of that.
“We have built the character of this team over the past two years. It was never something I doubted. We are a lot about this club and about each other as team-mates. We really worked hard for the win tonight.
"I’m excited about the fact we’ve gone through. The guys stuck to the script. The weather was tricky with the rain and we knew we couldn’t afford to turn the ball over much."
Warriors’ semi-final takes place next Saturday night against Munster, the side that knocked Glasgow out of the competition in the quarter-finals last year.
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Smith added: “It was always going to be a tough game in the semi-finals regardless of who we played. It doesn’t matter if it’s Munster, we knew it would be tough. I’m sure it’ll be a great semi-final. We are still alive in the competition.”
Warriors deviated from their traditional plan of always kicking for the corner at penalties when George Horne – the man of the match – knocked over two first-half kicks from the tee.
With no bonus points on offer, Smith said it was all about game management.
He added: “There is a difference between play-off rugby and rugby in the pool stage of the competition. The players understood that and showed it.
“Kicking for goal was about building a better platform for us to attack later in the game. Our strategy in the play-offs is slightly different but it all depends on circumstances. If we’d had a lot of momentum and a lot of opportunities and we just couldn’t convert them I probably would have said just go to touch.
“But it was our first real opportunity so we thought, ‘just take the three’. The weather conditions played a role. But we’ve also scored the most maul tries in the competition, with Johnny Matthews at the back of it, and we can always go back to that which we showed at the back end of that game tonight.”
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