Tim Swinson believes the set-piece problems Glasgow Warriors encountered in their 1872 Cup defeats to Edinburgh Rugby are easily fixed.

Glasgow ensured a torrid time at both scrum and lineout against their rivals from the capital, with young hooker Grant Stewart having an off day with his throwing and prop Oli Kebble sent to the sin-bin for repeated scrum infringements moments before opposing hooker Stuart McInally scored the game’s only try from a scrum won by Edinburgh against the put-in.

Swinson admitted the back-to-back defeats were “not great” for the Warriors, he felt the issues they had at the set piece could easily be addressed ahead of this weekend’s trip to Italy as Glasgow face Benetton Rugby.

The 38-times capped Scotland internationalist said: “The set piece is generally part of the game and it is something that we will look at during the week and really try and improve on.

“It is a situation where we have got a few guys switching in and out and I know that is not really an excuse, but again we have got to get better at that.



“You get patches where you can’t do anything right and then magically the next week you can do everything right and you don’t know what the worry was all about, but that is rugby.”



Looking back at the 8-16 reverse at the hands of Richard Cockerill’s men at Scotstoun on Saturday, Swinson was similarly frustrated with Glasgow’s performance at the breakdown, where Edinburgh got the better of their hosts.

Swinson continued: “They (Edinburgh) have got a great back-row, Hamish and Jamie Ritchie are both quality back-row players while Bill Mata speaks for himself as well.”

And Swinson said Saturday’s game – and not the forthcoming Heineken Champions Cup clashes with Cardiff Blues and Saracens – had to be Glasgow’s sole focus as they aim to restore some breathing space at the top of Conference A in the Guinness PRO14.

“Benetton have been a really good side over the last 12-18 months and they are well organised with a good quality forward pack so it will be a very good test ahead of two games in Europe against two more strong forward pack,” said the former Newcastle Falcons lock.

He added:“It is coming thick and fast for us at the moment, but that is what professional rugby is and we are playing in two of the best competitions in the world at the moment in the PRO14 and the Champions Cup.

“We wouldn’t expect anything else.”

And he said that Glasgow’s consecutive defeats should have no bearing on the task at hand in Treviso.

“I don’t think that is giving them enough credit, that just because we have lost a couple it is a bigger game. They are a quality side as you ave seen from watching them and the results they have had over the last 18 months,” said the 31-year-old.

He added: “The way they have played, they deserve to be respected as a team themselves never mind whether we have won some or lost some leading into it.

“We know it will be a tough game and when you have lost a game you always want to bounce back with a win.”