Watch: Glasgow Warriors return home after United Rugby Championship victory
Glasgow Warriors returned to Glasgow Airport after a famous victory in the United Rugby Championship final at Loftus Versfeld.
It was an epic achievement, overcoming one of South African greatest teams on their own patch in front of a partisan 50,000 sell-out crowd. They defeated the Bulls 21-16 in a pulsating final to claim their first major trophy since 2015.
They came from 13-0 down to win the match and outscored the hosts by three tries to one. “The boys fronted up to a very strong South African team away from home, in front of 50,000 people and it’s something they can be really proud of,” said head coach Franco Smith. “My heart is with Glasgow Warriors tonight. This team shouldn’t be done after tonight. We have enough building blocks to go a little bit further.”
Smith hopes the win can spark more success for the Scotstoun club. "We've been carrying this weight, Scotland's been carrying this weight for too long," Smith told BBC Scotland.
"Now, fortunately, there's enough Scottish players in this team to have that belief reinstalled.
"It's always there. It's more the fear of disappointment that I think kept them back. They didn't want to disappoint. They carry their hearts on their sleeves.
"They are good people. They want the national team, they want Glasgow Warriors to win all the time and that sometimes leads to a burden because you don't want to make mistakes in the end instead of going out and conquering the victories.
"Hopefully, these last three games have proved that the players have that ability and they now have that monkey off the back of the fear of failure."
Jubilant player Duncan Weir celebrated on arriving home in Glasgow, telling The Scotsman that the team’s achievement has already been recognised by one high-profile figure from the football world, with Ally McCoist getting in touch.
“He gave us a little message and I was telling the boys when we were having a beer,” explained Weir. “He was my hero growing up as a Rangers fan in Glasgow and it’s special when an achievement goes outside the rugby circle. They were some nice words and it feels good.”
Watch the video of the team arriving at Glasgow Airport above.