Head coach Franco Smith uncomfortable in final talks as Glasgow Warriors face Connacht in URC quarter-finals

They dare not mess this up on Friday or their season, which showed so much promise just a few weeks ago, will go up in smoke. This fear should concentrate their minds. They let a fantastic chance slip away against Toulon so they must be driven to high heaven to avoid a repeat.

Lancaster Junior – There is a subplot in all of this pitting Stuart against his son, Dan, coaching Lancaster snr against Glasgow fly-half. They both commit to a week of silence. No wonder.

It’s definitely a win for Glasgow. In the subconscious minds of some of their supporters they have probably already won. The audience is a strong, cohesive unit but there are few star names. There’s Bundy Aki, getting better with age, and captain and back-rower Sean Prendergast. Darragh Murray is not a box office hit but scored for Ireland in the Six Nations in the spring against Scotland.

Beyond that, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Clever players who are loaded with confidence if the marquee doesn’t appeal.

Glasgow has both. Scrum-half George Horne has returned to the team in recent weeks and their three-match losing streak ended almost immediately upon his return. Horn is the heartbeat, the whirling dervish, the man who teases and torments opposing defenses with the quickness of his serve, his eye for space and the pace to get in behind them.

He takes Glasgow to a different level but, to Smith’s relief, he has other talismans who can do a similar job. Scott Cummings, the dog at Lock, is back. He has not been seen since Scotland’s meeting with France in the Six Nations in early March.

Gregor Brown is still unavailable but Smith has all kinds of artillery. Huw Jones will play no part but Stafford McDowall will start even though he was. This is a Glasgow team full of experience and class. They will take some beating. Anything other than a home win would be a sensation.