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Glasgow back on track with train’s help
A passing train driver helped Glasgow get back on track as Danny Wilson’s team climbed off the bottom of their Guinness Pro14 conference with a victory over Edinburgh.
It was full steam ahead for the capital side when Jamie Farndale grabbed the opening try of the derby thriller.
But a blunder by Edinburgh scrum-half Nic Groom, who mistook the horn from a locomotive chugging behind Scotstoun’s North Stand for the half-time buzzer, saw Edinburgh hit the buffers.
That mistake gave Warriors youngster Ross Thompson the chance to kick a penalty and swing the momentum back in the home side’s favour.
Thompson celebrated his first start in fine style, kicking 13 points and directing play with the assurance of a seasoned pro as Warriors kick-started their season. This victory levels the 1872 Cup series, meaning that the dest ination of the silverware this season will be decided by the thi rd and f inal inter-city game, at a date still to be decided. More impor tant ly, it secured four vital league points for Danny Wilson’s men. It keeps them in the hunt for a top four finish in Conference B of the Pro14 – which they need if they are to qualify for the European Champions Cup next season.
Thompson said: “I was pretty nervous to begin with but everyone inside and outside me definitely helped.
“Ali Price at scrum-half was really good, he took over a lot of the kicking duties. He kept talking the whole way through which ddefinitely made it a lot easier for me.”
Glasgow’s scrum was steamrollered when ththese two sides met a fortnight ago but came ouout well on top in this area last night.
Thompson added: “The backs were bri b l l iant but the forwards were outstanding. o Our scrum gave us a really good go platform, and so did the maul, which definitely d helped us get the win.”
With Covid restrictions meaning there has h been no rugby played below professional level in Scotland since last March Thompson was coming into this game cold.
The 21-year-old had a late cameo off the bench against Edinburgh a fortnight ago for his Glasgow debut but apart from that he had been restricted to training for the last 11 months.
Thompson added: “It’s just nice to be playing some rugby again. I’ve only played about 10 minutes this season so to get 80 is really good.
“Everyone is hoping we can now put a start on this season and hopefully get a couple of back-to-back wins.
“We don’t know when the games will be played due to Covid but hopefully when we do get a chance to play we can get some more wins.”
Warriors raced into a six- point lead through two Thompson penalties but then let Edinburgh back into it when Aki Seiuli coughed up a cheap offside penalty that Jaco van der Walt punished with the boot
And they fell behind just before half-time when winger Jamie Farndale – a late call-up after Jack Blain failed a fitness test – scooted over in the corner.
Then came the bizarre moment when Groom mistook the horn of a nearby train for the half-time hooter and kicked the ball straight out inside his own 22.
That gifted Warriors the field position for Thompson to kick his third penalty.
The home side roared out of the blocks at the start of the second half and Matt Fagerson’s try – converted by Thompson – put Glasgow back ahead.
Then George Turner powered off the back of a lineout drive to give his team a commanding lead but Edinburgh weren’t done yet.
An excellent set move involving Hamish Watson and Dave Cherry sent Chris Dean over for a try that made it a six-point game with just over 20 minutes to go.
And when Eroni Sau scored in the corner in the dying minutes, it left van der Walt with a touchline conversion to snatch a dramatic win for the visitors – but he didn’t quite make it.