When Kyle Steyn got Glasgow Warriors’ third try of the game shortly before half time on Friday night it was just expected that they would go on and get their bonus point.
The fact they didn’t against an understrength Sharks side surprised the 7000 people inside a sold out Scotstoun and anyone who would have been watching on TV too.
But the Glasgow Warriors captain reckons the disappointment felt by players and fans is a sign of how far his side have come and shows the expectations they’ve put on themselves.
Franco Smith would have wanted the bonus point victory but he was picking the players up in the dressing room and telling them not to be frustrated. Being happy with the win is what he wanted to see post match even though they should have got that fourth try in the game.
Glasgow are still in pole position to get a home play-off spot with four games left to go in the regular season and Steyn is keen to push on for the rest of the season.
When asked if his disappointment despite getting a victory was a sign of the growing expectations placed on the club, he replied: “That’s it. And again Franco said that straight up. He said he loved that the standard we’ve set is really high. I think it does [show how far expectations have risen] but as the playoff games come you’re only going to get so many chances.
“And we have to work on our ability to take the chances that we get. It’s not a mindset thing as we’re starting games really well and get into our rhythm. But once we’ve got teams in that position we have to finish them off.
“Franco said to us in the changing room that we shouldn’t ever get tired of winning. He could sense there was a little bit of frustration and he said it really well.
“He said the only disappointing thing about is that there are some regrets out there. But I think we faced similar challenges in the Quins game. They did well to adapt and slow our ball down. We’ve got to find ways to counter that as teams adapt. I thought our retention was really good.
“We asked a lot of our big men in that second half, loads of carries. It does feel frustrating but it’s another step forward from the Quins game. It’s ever evolving and we’ll keep sharpening the tools as we go on.”
Glasgow’s next three games are away from home with a trip to Italy to face bottom side Zebre next week before two weeks in South Africa to take on the Lions and the Bulls.
There’s only one home game of the regular season left which will see Zebre travel to Scotstoun on May 31 and Steyn admits that is a bit of a blow.
He’s desperate to get that home quarter-final at a minimum and potentially a home semi-final too as he heaped praise on the Warrior Nation.
READ MORE: Five things we learned as Glasgow earn hard-fought win over Sharks
The 30-year-old was delighted to hear they had raised £41,900 over the course of the season as part of their Plaster It Purple campaign, with £10k of that coming on Friday night alone.
He believes that home crowd will be a huge help if they get to the playoffs and that’s why they need to be at their best on their travels over the next few weeks.
He said: “We’ve got four really big games left and the race towards the top is really tight. You’ve seen in the Champions Cup knockout games how difficult it is to win away from home. We can’t look too far ahead but we’re definitely aware that the more games that we can play at Scotstoun the better.
“We’re only at home again in a month. We spoke about that this week that this was the second last time in the regular season that we were going to get to play in front of the Warrior Nation. We know how much they fire us up.
“To raise something like £42,000 for charity, £10,000 of which came from everyone who rocked up tonight, is testament to the people who turn up here every week. The Warrior Nation as a community are just incredible. We’re grateful for their support and the way that they’ve backed the children’s hospital charity too.
Zebre are next up and although they are bottom of the league and struggling for results, they are improving in their performances and Steyn is wary of that.
When asked about their levels, he continued: “That’s not gone unnoticed, especially playing away in Parma where they’re looking a lot more organised and threatening. We know going away from home we’re going to have to be on it from the get-go.”
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