FROM THE JAWS OF DEFEAT

Warriors survive Sharks attack to bag a crucial Euro victory

Relieved Warriors boss Dave Rennie admitted his men put him through the emotional wringer in a late scare at Scotstoun.

Glasgow survived a dose of the jitters to shake off Sharks and boost their Euro glory bid.

Rennie’s side dominated the first hour of a thrilling contest.

But the English title contenders pounced against the run of play at a critical stage and threatened to snatch the win.

Warriors had to dig deep to avoid what would have been a huge blow to their hopes of claiming a place in the knockout stages of the Champions Cup.

Rennie said: “We got the win but it was very frustrating.

“We had a great first half but we were not fully rewarded on the scoreboard.

“Our control and kicking wasn’t nearly so good after the interval and we allowed them to get back into the arm wrestle.

“In some ways I would have

Glasgow Warriors.13 Sale Sharks .............. 7

David Kelso

taken that score if I’d been offered it before the match.

“But it was annoying that we could not close them out properly.

“We need to be smarter in situations like these.

“I want us to be as good as we can be – and we certainly have a lot more in the tank.” The tension during the opening exchanges was clear to see, with French ref Alex Ruiz having to intervene in the wake of two minibrawls in quick succession.

Sale had the first real attacking opportunity when the home front row were guilty of shoving too soon at a scrum. Warriors repelled the raid – and then spurned a pot at goal in favour of a line- out in the danger zone.

But the gamble failed as the Sharks markers snatched a crucial turnover.

Glasgow kept up the pres sure and Adam Hastings teed up a penalty 45 metres out that he confidently sent between the sticks.

A series of puzzling decisions by Ruiz saw the frustration grow in the Warriors ranks and allowed Sharks to work their way back into the contest.

The jitters were fuelled further as Hastings pushed his next strike wide of the far post but he quickly made amends to double the lead.

Sale upped the pace in the approach to the interval, only for the home side to create a brilliant try in their next venture up the park.

Dan van der Merwe timed his angled run to perfection and cruised to the line from 20 metres out.

Hastings banged over the awkward conversion. Sharks looked more urgent after the restart, with the Warriors defence being stretched for the first time. Having weathered the brief storm, Glasgow began to find their rhythm again and van der Merwe was a f ingertip away from latching on to a Hastings lob to complete his double.

But a spill by Tommy Seymour in the shadow of his own posts suddenly put the pressure back on the Scots.

And the match took on a whole new complexion in the 62nd minute when Coen ie Oos thu i zen muscled over for a try converted by USA World Cup ace AJ McGinty.

More basic mistakes came from Rennie’s outf it, with the Sharks sniffing a big chanc e of steal ing yet another potentially decisive try.

But Glasgow clung on in the nervy finale to seal a crucial Euro victory.