Franco Smith on what he expects from bruised Edinburgh

Glasgow head coach Franco Smith expects to face an Edinburgh side out to rectify their Scotstoun errors when they clash again in the Scottish capital.

Warriors claimed a 22-10 victory in last Friday’s home game as they consolidated their lead over their rivals in the United Rugby Championship – they sit second in the table – and opened up a sizeable advantage in their bid to retain the 1872 Cup.

Smith told glasgowwarriors.org: “We are expecting another tough encounter.

“While it is a big privilege for our players to play at Murrayfield, we expect Edinburgh to come out hard as they look to rectify their missed opportunities at Scotstoun last weekend as we know they still believe they can win this tie.

“We have prepared well for this challenge and will look to be the best version of ourselves tomorrow, as we keep working hard to make each other better.

“We know that we will have a strong travelling support inside Murrayfield and we want to put on a performance to finish the calendar year on a high.”

Smith has made three changes for the game, which will be played in front of more than 30,000 supporters.

URC top try scorer Johnny Matthews returns to the front row, while Thomas Gordon comes into the back row to replace the injured Sione Vailanu, who has a knee problem.

Tom Jordan is installed at fly-half as George Turner and Ross Thompson drop to the bench alongside Greg Peterson, who is set to make his final appearance for the club before departing for San Diego Legion.