Warriors coach wary of Chiefs

By Mark Stevens

Gregor Townsend says his Glasgow Warriors side cannot ill afford another slow start when they host in-form Exeter Chiefs this Sunday at Scotstoun Stadium (2pm).

The Scottish outfit did well to claim a bonus point after falling 34-0 behind to defending champions Toulon in their Heineken Cup opener last weekend, running in four second-half tries in a 51-28 defeat.

In contrast, Rob Baxter's Chiefs cruised to a 44-29 win over visiting Cardiff Blues - and former Scotland international Townsend was impressed with the manner of their victory.

"Last week they were outstanding, some of the best rugby I have seen from an English side," Townsend said. "They were 41-3 up after 50 minutes. They are a very well-drilled side, they know what their game is about. They run the ball more than any other team in England.

"They remind me a lot of Leinster last year. They are very good on the breakdown, they will keep ball and put you under pressure so we have to be switched on defensively. We know we might not get that much ball so we have to make our defence a weapon for us so that we can get the ball back and run with it."

Townsend, whose brother Craig played for the Chiefs during the Ian Bremner regime, has urged his players to learn from their defeat to the defending champions, warning that they need to lift their game to compete at this level.

"We learned a great deal last weekend in Toulon, about ourselves and the level of rugby we face in this competition," he added. "We had gone into the match full of confidence but we were way off our best in the first half.

"The display from our players after half-time was excellent but there is still an underlying feeling in our group of frustration and determination to put things right. It is very important that we rise up and deliver an 80-minute performance on Sunday."

Glasgow Warriors team to play the Chiefs

15. Sean Maitland
14. Tommy Seymour
13. Byron McGuigan
12. Gabriel Ascarate
11. DTH van der Merwe
10. Ruaridh Jackson
9. Niko Matawalu
1. Ryan Grant
2. Pat MacArthur
3. Ed Kalman
4. Tim Swinson
5. Al Kellock (Captain)
6. Rob Harley
7. Tyrone Holmes
8. Josh Strauss

16. Dougie Hall
17. Jerry Yanuyanutawa
18. Moray Low
19. Jonny Gray
20. Richie Vernon
21. Chris Cusiter
22. Duncan Weir
23. Mark Bennett