Former Emirates Lions and Glasgow Warriors captain Josh Strauss believes the Vodacom United Rugby Championship has been been quite an eye-opener for South African teams.

“The tournament has been been quite interesting for our local-based sides. It’s been good to see how teams match up to one another over the past two rounds which makes for good viewing,” said the 24-cap Scotland international.

Strauss, who appeared over 50 times for the Lions and has a century of appearances for the Glasgow-based Warriors, suggests it will be a tough encounter.

“The conditions were mostly wet when I played there (Glasgow) which is not something the Lions are not really accustomed to. The 4G surface at Scotstoun could also make things quite interesting,” he added.

Only 2️⃣ more DAYS until we get to face @GlasgowWarriors at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow!#LionsPride @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/jgRJs3ZqKP

— Emirates Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) October 7, 2021

Pushed for a prediction for the third-round fixture: “To be honest, I enjoy watching teams I’ve played for in the past, but if I have to put on my Lions hat I would say, play to your strengths, which I believe is a physical approach,” concluded Strauss.

The match kicks off at 16:05 (SA time).

Glasgow Warriors: Cole Forbes, Kyle Steyn, Nick Grigg, Sam Johnson, Rufus McLean, Ross Thompson, Jamie Dobie; Jamie Bhatti, Fraser Brown, Murray McCallum, Lewis Bean, Richie Gray, Ryan Wilson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey. Replacements: Johnny Matthews, Brad Thyer, Murphy Walker, Rob Harley, Matt Fagerson, George Horne, Duncan Weir, Sione Tuipulotu.

Emirates Lions: Divan Rossouw, Stean Pienaar, Manuel Rass, Burger Odendaal (captain), Rabz Maxwane, EW Viljoen, Andre Warner; Sti Sithole, Jaco Visagie, Jannie du Plessis, Ruben Schoeman, Pieter Jansen van Vuren, Jaco Kriel, Vincent Tshituka, Ruhan Straeuli. Replacements: PJ Botha, Morgan Naude, Carlu Sadie, Reinhard Nothnagel, Sibusiso Sangweni, Morne van den Berg, Matt More, Wandisile Simelane.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Lions Rugby Company (@lionsrugbyco)