Glasgow Warriors Thread

[lineens weegie army]

A thread for discussing Partick Thistles tennents, and to moan about the state of the pitch ect.

 

With a play-off place already confirmed (Thank you Ulster) a top 2 finish will bring that semi-final to Firhill. Glasgow are currently third, 1 point behind Neath-Swansea Ospreys and 4 behind Leinster, and travel to Llanelli on friday. To secure a home semi-final Glasgow need to pick up a 4 try bonus point win at Llanelli, and hope that Ospreys cant put 4 tries past their welsh rivals from Newport.

 

Not that likely TBH (a bunch of kids being sent by Newport due to an injury crisis) but who knows what will happen... Would be terrible to not get the BP win only to find out Newport had kept them out.

 

Glasgow team to play Llanelli:

 

15 Bernardo Stortoni

 

14 DTH van der Merwe

13 Max Evans

12 Graeme Morrison

11 Rob Dewey

 

10 Dan Parks

9 Chris Cusiter

 

1 Kevin Tkachuk

2 Fergus Thomson

3 Moray Low

4 Richie Gray

5 Alastair Kellock CAPTAIN

6 Calum Forrester

7 Kelly Brown

8 Johnnie Beattie

 

Substitutes

 

16 Dougie Hall

17 Ed Kalman

18 Dan Turner

19 James Eddie

20 Mark McMillan

21 Duncan Weir*

22 Hefin O’Hare

 

Aside from John Barclay (being rested for the semi - has a slight shoulder knock apparently) as stong as side as we could. Not really surprising given what is at stake.

[lineens weegie army]

Play-off ticketing details from official site:

 

The Warriors in the Play-offs – When to Buy Tickets

With one game to go in the regular season, the Warriors have qualified for the inaugural Magners League play-offs. This is a superb achievement for everyone connected with the Club and a reward to all our supporters who have been with us every step of the way this season. We are sure you will not want to miss out on the biggest game in the Club’s history so here are details on how you can get behind the team as they aim to qualify for the final.

 

The current Magners League standings are as follows:

 

Played Point Points Difference

1 Leinster 17 50 55

2 Ospreys 17 47 54

3 Warriors 17 46 64

4 Munster 17 44 38

5 Blues 17 40 33

6 Edinburgh 17 40 3

 

Round 18 Fixtures

7 May Scarlets v Warriors 19.05

7 May Ospreys v Dragons 19.05 BBCw & Setanta

7 May Ulster v Connacht 19.30 Setanta

9 May Blues v Munster 18.15 S4/C & Setanta

9 May Leinster v Edinburgh 18.15 Setanta

 

Home play-off at Firhill Stadium

The Warriors will definitely host a play-off at Firhill if we top the Magners League after the first set of Round 18 games on Friday, May 7. TICKETS FOR THE FIRHILL PLAY-OFF WILL BE ON SALE IMMEDIATELY and can be bought by calling the Warriors TICKET HOTLINE on 0844 335 3933 or by visiting www.glasgowwarriors.org.

 

With two games to be played on Sunday, May 9, the date and time of our play-off match will not be know until the conclusion of both Sunday fixtures, however, all supporters who buy a ticket will be emailed immediately the play-off schedule is released. The match will be played on either FRIDAY, MAY 14 (EVENING KO – TIME TBC) or SATURDAY, MAY 15 (EVENING KO – TIME TBC).

 

Should we occupy second spot after Friday’s game, Firhill can still host a play-off but this will only be confirmed at the end of Sunday’s matches. If we are still in second position on Sunday night, TICKETS FOR THE FIRHILL PLAY-OFF WILL BE ON SALE FROM 9.00 PM and can be bought by calling the TICKET HOTLINE on 0844 335 3933 or by visiting www.glasgowwarriors.org. Details of the match will be available on www.glasgowwarriors.org.

 

Warriors supporters who buy tickets after 4.00 PM on Tuesday, May 11 will not be posted but we can arrange collection in Greaves Sports (Gordon Street Store, Glasgow) on Thursday/Friday.

 

Away Play-off Tickets

A third or fourth place finish on Friday or Sunday means the Warriors will be on the road for the play-off. Tickets will go on sale at noon on Monday 10th May and will be available until 5.00 PM on Tuesday 11th May.

 

To order your away playoff ticket call the Warriors TICKET HOTLINE on 0844 335 3933 or visit www.glasgowwarriors.org.

 

Once you have purchased your ticket(s) – they will be available for collection from the Greaves Sports (Gordon Street) from 1pm on Wednesday May 12 untill 6pm on Thursday May 14. Please note that all tickets must be pre-ordered.

 

We regret that tickets cannot be posted due to the short turn around between the end of the season and the playoff game.

 

If you don’t purchase your tickets by 5pm on Tuesday, May 11, you can still buy tickets by contacting the home club direct.

[Jaggernaut]

Why don't the Warriors buy Firhill for, say £5m, and then lease it back to Thistle?

[lineens weegie army]

Why don't the Warriors buy Firhill for, say £5m, and then lease it back to Thistle?

 

would have to be much cheaper than £5m (or at the least, a nominal fee now and the rest when we can afford it). The SRU's debts make Thistl... actually, the SRU's debts are much less than Rangers debt. Except obviously the SRU have better assets and therefore arent under an serious pressure. (they are also using those assets to make huge inroads towards clearing that debt. Events like last weeks Magic Weekend, the 7's and last years HC final)

 

Most recent figures were about £16m, but that was last year - should see updated accounts before the AGM next month, and would expect to see it decrease again.

 

Ofcourse, if Glasgow continue to grow off the park (our average crowd was up to just under 3,800 this year) and can hit 5-6,000 on a weekly basis then we might start making profits, which are apparently ours to invest as we choose

 

Would be nice if we could buy it before the bing is destroyed though (unless its too late already?)

[arnus68]

Looks like rugby at Fir Park tonight.

[The Devil's Point]

Why don't the Warriors buy Firhill for, say £5m, and then lease it back to Thistle?

 

I've thought this for ages but have never had the nerve to post it. Perhaps it could work if they cleared all our debt upfront then made payments over twenty years or so giving us a gauranteed income stream.

Edited May 6, 2010 by The Devil's Point

[uberteeb]

There is hardly any chance of a play off at Firhill

[lineens weegie army]

HT down in Wales:

 

Scarlets 16(2T)-(2T)17 Warriors

Ospreys 16(1T)-3 Newport

 

So as things stand, Glasgow are in a strong position. BUT the worry is Newport give up if they fall any further behind. On the other hand, if they can steal a try it forces the Ospreys to concentrate on the win and makes going for the BP risky.

 

Still a lot of Rugby to be played, and no chickens being counted here, but there is a chance... A slim one, but a chance none the less!

[lineens weegie army]

12 mins to go - no play-off at Firhill ATM, not on league points, not on games won, not on pts diff, but on tries for!

 

Ospreys only need 1 try to end it though.

[lineens weegie army]

And there is that try

 

If it finishes like this, Leinster still need something on sunday to finish in the top 2. But at home to Edinburgh, it would be the upset of the season if it came off...

[lineens weegie army]

Once again we were just 12 minutes away from a semi-final at Firhill today.

 

ML semi-finals are now confirmed:

 

Neath-Swansea Ospreys v Glasgow Warriors, fri 14th may 19:05 (will be live on BBC Wales for those interested)

Leinster v Munster, Sat 15th may 20:00

 

If Munster beat Leinster at the RDS, the final will be at 'home' for the winner of Ospreys v Glasgow - In Glasgows case, Murrayfield.

[Ember]

Glasgow Warriors head coach, Sean Lineen, disclosed today that his side have drawn on the experience of scrum-half Mark McMillan for the inaugural Magners League Play-Offs which take place tomorrow night.

Mark has been named at scrum-half for the showdown with the Ospreys at Liberty Stadium (ko 7.05pm) in the absence of Scotland captain Chris Cusiter who is ruled out due to a knee injury sustained in last week's bonus point win over the Scarlets.

 

Supporters unable to make the journey to South Wales will be able to watch it live on BBC Wales and BBC ALBA plus hear live commentary on BBC Radio Scotland (810MW).

 

Mark has won knock-out competition in the past with London Wasps having lifted Heineken Cup and Guinness Premiership titles and Lineen believes he is the ideal replacement for Cusiter.

 

Sean said: "It just shows the strength in depth of the squad. Cus hasn't managed to pull through but what a replacement we've got in Mark McMillan.

 

"He's been a fantastic player for us all season."

 

Considering the way in which his players have prepared this week, Sean continued: "We've won down in Wales before so the players are going down there with one thing in mind.

 

"It's going to be a 22-man effort and that has been evident this week which has been an interesting one in training.

 

"Although it's been a long season, it feels as though it's starting again. The enthusiasm and energy and the way we've gone about this week has been very encouraging."

 

Today's announcement also sees the confirmation that John Barclay and Max Evans return to the side for what is to be the biggest game in the club's history to date.

 

Glasgow Warriors

 

15 Bernardo Stortoni

 

14 Rob Dewey

13 Max Evans

12 Graeme Morrison

11 DTH van der Merwe

 

10 Dan Parks

9 Mark McMillan

 

1 Ed Kalman

2 Fergus Thomson

3 Moray Low

4 Tim Barker

5 Alastair Kellock CAPTAIN

6 Kelly Brown

7 John Barclay

8 Johnnie Beattie

 

Substitutes

 

16 Pat MacArthur

17 Kevin Tkachuk

18 Dan Turner

19 James Eddie

20 Hefin O'Hare

21 Duncan Weir*

22 Colin Shaw**

[lineens weegie army]

And Glasgow have officially been cheated out of a home semi-final!

 

Ospreys have been docked 4 points for failing to fufill a fixture against Ulster at Ravenhill, because they didn't want to play without their most experienced players. But, I'm sure anybody on here will agree sporting integrity dictates a punishment like that should come in the same season as the offence is comitted.

 

CR can be bloody pleased nobody outside the top 4 was within 4 points of the Ospreys though, or there would would be all-out war!

 

(ofcourse the real question is though, since the game was supposed to be played on 19th March, and it is now the 13th May, why has it taken this long to convene the disciplinary panel?)

[jags365]

And Glasgow have officially been cheated out of a home semi-final!

 

Ospreys have been docked 4 points for failing to fufill a fixture against Ulster at Ravenhill, because they didn't want to play without their most experienced players. But, I'm sure anybody on here will agree sporting integrity dictates a punishment like that should come in the same season as the offence is comitted.

 

CR can be bloody pleased nobody outside the top 4 was within 4 points of the Ospreys though, or there would would be all-out war!

 

(ofcourse the real question is though, since the game was supposed to be played on 19th March, and it is now the 13th May, why has it taken this long to convene the disciplinary panel?)

Still better than most of the footballing bodies disciplinary panels!

[lineens weegie army]

Still better than most of the footballing bodies disciplinary panels!

 

TBH that says more about the football ones (im sure we all remember the Estonia farce a few years ago)

[Ancipital]

The Warriors have been drawn against defending champions Tolouse, Wasps, and Newport Dragons in next year's Heineken Cup- hopefully the home game vs Toulouse is on a Friday night, that would be good to go to.

[lineens weegie army]

The Warriors have been drawn against defending champions Tolouse, Wasps, and Newport Dragons in next year's Heineken Cup- hopefully the home game vs Toulouse is on a Friday night, that would be good to go to.

 

We beat all 3 of those the last time we played them!

 

Should realistically be targetting 3 home wins, and hopefully we can pick up enough on the road to scrape through in second place.

 

I decided not to bother going to Toulouse 2 years ago - I wont make that mistake again Really looking forward to that trip (given we beat them last time out, and they normally only play one game at their home ground, I suspect we may get to play them infront of 40,000 of the most passionate fans in rugby )

 

We got 5,000 to Firhill last time they came 2 years ago - and they are now European Champions. Would be good if we could get 6-7,000 in for that one (or even fill it?)

 

 

Just a shame we got the feckin Dragons again!

[Ember]

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/sport/Spine-injury-forces-Tom-Evans.6393708.jp

 

Sad, sad news and puts all the diving and feigning injury we see in football into perspective.

[Jaggernaut]

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/sport/Spine-injury-forces-Tom-Evans.6393708.jp

 

Sad, sad news and puts all the diving and feigning injury we see in football into perspective.

Yes, it's always a shame when a really promising sportsman or woman needs to retire prematurely from their sport through serious injury. At least he's still in good overall shape, though, and here's hoping that he finds success elsewhere, or even within the game.

[uberteeb]

This years Thistle season ticket still has one Warriors voucher, but it is only valid for the 1872 Cup game against Edinburgh. Thats a nightmare for me, I used to gather up loads of free vouchers from all the "rugby is shite" guys and go to loads of games for nowt.

 

Can't see myself going to more than one or two games if I need to pay full whack. I don't think its very good value, particularly the Heineken games which are £20 to get in.

[Sandy Gall]

This years Thistle season ticket still has one Warriors voucher, but it is only valid for the 1872 Cup game against Edinburgh. Thats a nightmare for me, I used to gather up loads of free vouchers from all the "rugby is shite" guys and go to loads of games for nowt.

 

Can't see myself going to more than one or two games if I need to pay full whack. I don't think its very good value, particularly the Heineken games which are £20 to get in.

 

I'm not having a dig here, I understand that this is a bad result for you personally and that the Warriors won't have your support at as many games as last season and I assume that you aren't the only Jags fan who benefited this way last year.

 

Presumably, the rugby team are taking the hit on the extra support that they received from last years promotion (20 -30 additional bums on seats across the season?) in an effort to get 300 or so into one cracking (they hope) match with 7-8,000 supporters already guaranteed. Maybe 50-100 of the freebie Jags folk could become long term fans and spread the word...maybe you'd bring a friend that would pay to get in.

 

In the end, I appreciate you will miss out on some top-league rugby, but if they pick up 50 people that are willing to pay, then this offer might actually offer a small financial benefit to Glasgow rugby as well as being a freebie for Jags fans. I doubt that they gained anything other than goodwill from last year's give-away.

 

At least your loss (of games) means for the Warriors that you'll buy a couple of tickets this year. Again, this isn't dig at you, but a defence of the change to the arrangement and maybe I'm wrong.

[uberteeb]

I'm not having a dig here, I understand that this is a bad result for you personally and that the Warriors won't have your support at as many games as last season and I assume that you aren't the only Jags fan who benefited this way last year.

 

Presumably, the rugby team are taking the hit on the extra support that they received from last years promotion (20 -30 additional bums on seats across the season?) in an effort to get 300 or so into one cracking (they hope) match with 7-8,000 supporters already guaranteed. Maybe 50-100 of the freebie Jags folk could become long term fans and spread the word...maybe you'd bring a friend that would pay to get in.

 

In the end, I appreciate you will miss out on some top-league rugby, but if they pick up 50 people that are willing to pay, then this offer might actually offer a small financial benefit to Glasgow rugby as well as being a freebie for Jags fans. I doubt that they gained anything other than goodwill from last year's give-away.

 

At least your loss (of games) means for the Warriors that you'll buy a couple of tickets this year. Again, this isn't dig at you, but a defence of the change to the arrangement and maybe I'm wrong.

 

Don't get me wrong, it makes total sense for them to do it, it was an obvious flaw, since they started giving out these vouchers with our season tickets I've probably attended 6-10 games a season for nothing. Conversely I'm gutted they stopped it as I no longer benefit.

 

On each occasion I would have spent £10+ on beer and they'll lose out on that.

 

I'll go the Edinburgh game with my voucher (funnily enough I've never actually been to an Edinburgh game) but I'll sure as hell not be paying £20 to get into the Heineken Cup Games unless the Toulouse game could see them go through. I used to make a point of going to the games against the Blues and Ospreys, I'll now only go if my egg supporting mates can guarantee they are bringing up decent teams, same goes for the Irish who are even worse for doing it than the Welsh.

 

From an individual point of view my attendance will go down, the money I spend at the games will go down and my overall interest in the Warriors will go down. I'm sure I'm not the only person in this position, there must have been a few Jags fans 'abusing' the free voucher system.

[lineens weegie army]

Don't get me wrong, it makes total sense for them to do it, it was an obvious flaw, since they started giving out these vouchers with our season tickets I've probably attended 6-10 games a season for nothing. Conversely I'm gutted they stopped it as I no longer benefit.

 

On each occasion I would have spent £10+ on beer and they'll lose out on that.

 

I'll go the Edinburgh game with my voucher (funnily enough I've never actually been to an Edinburgh game) but I'll sure as hell not be paying £20 to get into the Heineken Cup Games unless the Toulouse game could see them go through. I used to make a point of going to the games against the Blues and Ospreys, I'll now only go if my egg supporting mates can guarantee they are bringing up decent teams, same goes for the Irish who are even worse for doing it than the Welsh.

 

From an individual point of view my attendance will go down, the money I spend at the games will go down and my overall interest in the Warriors will go down. I'm sure I'm not the only person in this position, there must have been a few Jags fans 'abusing' the free voucher system.

 

First of all - match tickets are only £15 if bought before 6pm on match night (or I think 3 hours before kick-off for a sat/sun game), it only costs £20 if you turn up on the night to get your ticket. (the crowds we are getting right now I fully understand that - since it gives the club a far better idea if they will need the north/main stand atall.

 

The £20 for HC games only lasted 1 season before being dropped in favour of increased match-day prices across the board.

 

And is £15 to watch Toulouse (4-time and reigning European champions) not better value than £16 to watch Dundee?

 

What is the deal with Thistle ST's this year - does it automatically give you entry to the Edinburgh game, or do you have to swap a voucher for a match ticket in advance? I know that Edinburgh fans (who get into 3 of our games, including the derby) now have to swap their vouchers for tickets in advance, and I think we are going to Allocated seating for the derby this year.

[uberteeb]

First of all - match tickets are only £15 if bought before 6pm on match night (or I think 3 hours before kick-off for a sat/sun game), it only costs £20 if you turn up on the night to get your ticket. (the crowds we are getting right now I fully understand that - since it gives the club a far better idea if they will need the north/main stand atall.

 

The £20 for HC games only lasted 1 season before being dropped in favour of increased match-day prices across the board.

 

And is £15 to watch Toulouse (4-time and reigning European champions) not better value than £16 to watch Dundee?

 

What is the deal with Thistle ST's this year - does it automatically give you entry to the Edinburgh game, or do you have to swap a voucher for a match ticket in advance? I know that Edinburgh fans (who get into 3 of our games, including the derby) now have to swap their vouchers for tickets in advance, and I think we are going to Allocated seating for the derby this year.

 

The season ticket has a voucher for the Edinburgh game, I obviously don't have my season ticket with me here in work but I seem to remember you have to exchange it before the end of October for a match ticket otherwise its void. Can't remember how or where you're meant to exchange it or if that info is even on the voucher.

 

So the HC games will be £15 entry if I buy my ticket in advance? Can you buy them with cash anywhere in town or do you need to go to the Firhill office (not handy) or buy on the SRU website (does that have other fees attached to it)?

 

As for £15 for watching Toulouse being better than £16 for Dundee (I actually think we have raised it to £17 for the coming season) you're right on paper but I don't love rugby the way I love football, I don't like the Warriors the way I love the Jags. So for me its not better value.

 

Egg chasing for me is one of two things. At international days its an excuse for a good bevy session in Edinburgh catching up with old mates who I don't see very often. On Warriors evenings its a good excuse to have a relaxed night with a few beers when I don't want to go out and paint the town red. I'm a floating rugby fan, I'm sure plenty of floating rugby fans don't find the ticket prices provide much value or incentive to go along. Same way the prices at football don't suit the casual fan with a vague interest who might fancy taking in a game.

[twinny]

I bought tickets for last years Edinburgh game from Greaves, so i imagine you can get tickets for most Warriors games there, and it would probably be there you exchange the voucher for a ticket too.