Ryan Wilson believes Franco Smith holds the key to Glasgow Warriors breaking the glass ceiling and pushing for Investec Champions Cup glory for the first time this season.

The Scottish side reached last year’s quarter-finals as one of the top two seeds in the group stages, before being upset at home by Toulon. And while former club captain Wilson believes Glasgow have it in them to challenge the best again this season, he knows that they only have a chance of becoming the first Scottish winners of the competition if Smith can create some depth after a summer that saw the departures of the likes of Huw Jones, Adam Hastings and Jack Dempsey.

“The problem with both squads (Glasgow and Edinburgh), and I guess you could say it's across all the teams in the competition, it's always how deep do the squads go?” said Wilson, part of the Premier Sports team broadcasting the opening round of this year’s Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup.

“That's probably my one worry with the Scottish teams, is how deep do they actually go and how can they stay away from injuries? Both teams were hampered with injuries last year and Glasgow have lost a fair few players.

“I hope to see them push on. I think they've got the team that can do it. Have they got the depth of the squad? We’re yet to see. They're going to have to dig pretty deep.

“I said that again at the beginning of the season, for Glasgow to do well this year, Franco's going to have to work his magic. But if there's a bloke that can do it, it's certainly Franco Smith.”

Glasgow are one of just two unbeaten teams in club competition this season, along with Edinburgh, and kick off their Champions Cup campaign away to Sale Sharks. They got the better of Sale at the same stage a year ago, on their way to topping a high-class pool, on a day when Jamie Dobie played the final half-hour at scrum-half. He has since emerged as an international option both in the No.9 jersey and on the wing.

And while the man himself is keen to play scrum-half primarily, Wilson feels the most important thing is that he is involved somewhere at international level, such is the X-factor he offers.

He added: “Jamie Dobie is untouchable. I want to see him get a bit more time in the nine jersey because to have someone that's that adaptable and able to play across the back line like he does in the way that he does, for the size of the man, he's a special player.

“I was really gutted for him when Kyle Rowe pulled out at the weekend. He then got shifted back to the wing and everyone's asking what is his preferred position? I know he wants to play nine. I know he prefers getting increasingly involved. That's what you want to see, as you see moments of magic from him in the game.”