Franco Smith admits he’s thrilled his young players problem solved and found a way to win against a physical Cardiff team on a miserable night at Scotstoun.

He refused to reveal what he had said to the team at half time but he admitted he was disappointed with the physicality of the team in the first period with Cardiff dominating the game.

He singled out Max Williamson for particular praise in the second half with the second row getting the try that got them back into it and really showing the physical side of his game.

The wind and rain at Scotstoun made it a difficult night for Glasgow in the first half and it had all but disappeared when they came out for the second period when it would have been in their favour.

The players stepped up their levels to win 17-13 with Lucio Sordoni also getting his first try for the club and Smith was pleased they could learn lessons while getting the victory but he was still frustrated by the first half.

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He said: “I was disappointed and thought we were getting bullied in the first half and the conditions were probably the worst we’ve had. Sometimes the rain came horizontal but I still thought physically things could have been done better with the mauls and the scrums in a certain way, the breakdowns were poorly managed.

“I only challenged them about what they’ve already done, not what they have to do. They’ve shown in other games they can be really good so much better in the second half but I must say, Cardiff know if we’re on it they know it’s going to be a long night for them and they were brilliant in how they analysed us and they used the two weeks really well. They were physical and slowed our breakdowns down.

“This group of players I will always back. We were always going to be leaving the field with our hearts on our sleeve. We had a lot of young players out there who had to problem solve with the rain. We had 20 lineouts which means the options you work on during the week go down. You prep usually for about 15 but to get 20 for young players at this level, we’re challenged at that regard.

“Again the conditions made it hard so no doubt it was a lot of lessons learned tonight and I’m excited we could learn it and win. That’s the positive I’m taking.”

Williamson was praised for his performance but it didn’t mean that he didn’t get criticism too after a mistake in the first half.

But Smith was happy with his youngsters who continue to impress at this level with Alex Samuel and Euan Ferrie also mentioned by the head coach.

He added: “Sometimes you’ve got to be on it the whole time at this level because sometimes as a young guy they’ll come at you.

“They would have looked at our pack and seen we had Max and Alex (Samuel) and Euan Ferrie who are really young and try and intimidate them and he (Williamson) specifically fought very well in the second half of the game.”