Warriors lose to Saracens in bruising battle
Saracens edge out Warriors in feisty encounter as hosts are punished for wasting chances
GLASGOW’S ambitions of making the knock-out stages of this competition may have taken a dent with this defeat yesterday but what will frustrate Warriors more is their failure to punish Saracens when they had them on the back foot.
In front of a packed Scotstoun, Glasgow consistently chose to play for a try and ignored the opportunity to put points on the board with the boot — going for glory instead of eating into Saracens’ lead by keeping the scoreboard ticking over.
There are lessons to be learned at this level. Take points, any points, when you can get them. And win at home at all costs because success on the road is a rare commodity.
Defeat in an at times tousy encounter is a bitter pill for Warriors. Throwing away their opportunities when just a touch of composure was needed makes it all the more unpalatable.
For all their efforts, and there was certainly that in aplenty, Adam Hastings’ first-half penalty was all Warriors have to look back on. In his battle with Owen Farrell, it was the Englishman who narrowly edged it over the piece.
Without the injured Stuart Hogg there was no bite to the home attack. In defence, the big men of the Saracens pack rolled over their opposite numbers.
In a fractious match Maro Itoje, who ended the game with a broken nose, was lucky not to get a yellow card for inciting the Glasgow players in one of several unsavoury incidents that marred the match.
The Warriors thought they had scored and were celebrating in first-half stoppage time only for referee Mathieu Raynal to disallow it. Itoje certainly didn’t endear himself to the home support by mockingly joining in the Glasgow party having seen the official’s decision.
A display of sportsmanship it certainly wasn’t. Such incidents meant his man-of-the-match award was treated with displeasure by the home faithful.
Saracens scored the only try of the game through Michael Rhodes in a first half in which they finished 13-3 ahead. There was not a single point scored by either side in a mediocre second period.
The visitors’ pack made a statement of intent straight from the kick-off.
George Kruis gathered and along with his forwards made 20 metres, pushing the Glasgow forwards back in their wake.
The home side should have taken the lead with six minutes on the clock when Hastings had a simple kick from in front of the posts after Saracens were caught offside. But there was a stunned silence inside Scotstoun when he shanked his effort well wide.
Getting out of jail was the wake up call Saracens needed. With Billy Vunipola being used as a wrecking ball, they started to make inroads.
Vunipola helped set up Sean Maitland for a run up the line. Replays showed that Alex Lozowski was just in touch when he played the ball inside from Maitland’s pass but the referee let play continue.
There was still a lot of work to do to score. Richard Wigglesworth was involved in controlling four more phases of attacking play that ended with hooker Jamie George playing in Rhodes at the corner.
Farrell put over the conversion and followed that up four minutes later with a penalty after Alex Dunbar was caught offside.
In terms of helping his confidence, Hastings’ conversion of a penalty after Saracens were caught offside was just what he needed.
And four minutes before the break, he chipped the ball over Brad Barritt and very nearly caught it on the bounce for a clear run to the try-line only to agonisingly knock on as he tried to catch it.
It proved costly as Saracens went up the other end and increased their lead with another Farrell penalty after Fraser Brown was penalised.
A minute before half-time, Kruis was lucky not to be yellow-carded for a blatant neck roll on Brown.
Rather than take a simple three points, Glasgow kicked the penalty to the corner and tried to get their rolling maul from the lineout. They failed but did enough to force Saracens into giving away another penalty.
Yet again Glasgow kicked to the corner and from that were awarded a third penalty which led to referee Raynal warning Saracens one more offence and his yellow card would be shown to someone.
Glasgow thought they had got over for a try from the next play but the Saracens players had pulled up realising the referee had penalised the home side for a knock-on.
Midway through the second period, Glasgow had sustained pressure but wasted any openings they created.
With a minute left, the crowd was on its feet when Ruaridh Jackson had the ball in hand with Rory Hughes outside him. The winger was tight to the touchline but that was no excuse for such an experienced Glasgow player to throw him a forward pass.
It was agonisingly disappointing — another example of what might have been. And how it summed up the match as a whole. SCORERS: GLASGOW — Pen: Hastings. SARACENS — Try: Rhodes. Con: Farrell. Pens: Farrell (2).