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Murchie unfazed by Warriors' drop-off in form

Murchie unfazed by Warriors' drop-off in form

BBC News26-05-2025

Pete Murchie is unfazed by Glasgow's patchy form heading into the URC play-offs because he recalls that they were not at their consistent best before winning the title last year.The defending champions host Stormers in the quarter-final on Friday after losing four of their last five matches, and each of their last three.However, defence coach Murchie was quick to point out Warriors lost two of their last three games of the regulation season a year ago before pulling it all together when it mattered most to defeat Stormers, Munster and Bulls and claim the championship."We're not in the business of losing games and being happy about it," he said. "But in the last game against Leinster (a 17-5 defeat) we looked a lot more like ourselves, based on the amount of young players we had playing and how we fronted up."It was definitely a step forward in terms of performance. Last year, I wouldn't say we were exactly humming in the three or four games before this period, so it is about putting our best quality performance out this weekend."Glasgow's bid to make an impact in the play-offs has been aided by the return from injury of Lions' call-ups Scott Cummings, Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu in recent weeks.Captain Tuipulotu, who played the first half against Leinster, "didn't look rusty at all" added Murchie."Obviously players who have got experience of having done it before, international players who have played on the bigger stage, he's obviously got massive leadership qualities for us," he said."He did pretty well in his 40 minutes against a tough opposition. He didn't look rusty at all, so it's big to have someone of his quality back available for these games."

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